A fall through time
by WackyWizard
Summary: Sirius falls through the veil and ends up in 1977 where he becomes the DADA Professor. He finds that he doesn't like his younger self, but is surprised when he finds himself drawn to a 6th year student named Willow Briar. Full summary inside. SBXOC JXL AU
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: You should know by now.**

**Summary: **When Sirius fell through the veil, he didn't die, but was instead sent back in time, to be more precise, his last year of Hogwarts. Now the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor he finds himself disliking his younger self but drawn to a sixth year student by the name of Willow Briar. But nothing can happen between a student and a teacher, right? SBXOC

Prologue

Only one pair was still battling, apparently unaware of the new arrival. Harry saw Sirius duck Bellatrix's jet of red light: he was laughing at her.

"Come on, you can do better than that!" he yelled, his voice echoing around the cavernous room.

The second jet of light hit him squarely on the chest.

The laughter had not quite died from his face, but his eyes widened in shock.

Harry released Neville, though he was unaware of doing so. He was jumping down the steps again, pulling out his wand, as Dumbledore, too, turned towards the dia.

It seemed to take Sirius an age to fall: his body curved in a graceful arc as he sank backwards through the ragged veil hanging from the arch.

Harry saw the look of mingled fear and surprise on his godfather's wasted, once-handsome face as he fell through the ancient doorway and disappeared behind the veil, which fluttered for a moment as though in high wind, then fell back into place.

Harry heard Bellatrix Lestrange's triumphant it meant nothing – Sirius had only just fallen through the archway, he would reappear from the other side any second…

But Sirius did not reappear.

"SIRIUS!" Harry yelled. "SIRIUS!"

He had reached the floor, his breath coming in searing gasps. Sirius must be just behind the curtain, he, Harry, would pull him back out…

But as he reached the ground and sprinted towards the dais, Lupin grabbed Harry around the chest, holding him back.

"There's nothing you can do, Harry-"

"Get him, save him; he's only just gone through!"

"- it's too late, Harry."

"We can still reach him -" Harry struggled hard and viciously, but Lupin would not let go…

"There's nothing you can do, Harry… nothing… he's gone."

**A/N: Okay, first chapter up. Sorry I've been away so long guys. Anyway, this is an extract from the fifth book, as you can tell. Next chapter is where the fun begins, or so I believe… **


	2. 1977

**Disclaimer: You should know by now.**

**Summary: **When Sirius fell through the veil, he didn't die, but was instead sent back in time, to be more precise, his last year of Hogwarts. Now the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor he finds himself disliking his younger self but drawn to a sixth year student by the name of Willow Briar. But nothing can happen between a student and a teacher, right? SBXOC

Chapter One – 1977

"Do you suppose he's alright, Albus?"

"Well, Minerva, he does appear to be alive."

"You don't think he's a death eater, do you?"

"I don't believe so, Minerva; however, it isn't every day that someone drops in my office from out of nowhere."

Sirius groaned as he heard the voices, shifting slightly and immediately regretted it – his body ached.

"He appears to be waking up, why don't you fetch Poppy, Minerva?"

Sirius was aware of footsteps and the sound of a door opening and shutting and then silence fell. Groaning once again, Sirius blearily opened his eyes and was met with a strange sight.

A pair of blue eyes stared at him from behind half-moon spectacles and a long white beard brushed against him.

"Nice to see you have woken," the calm voice of Albus Dumbledore said.

Sirius groaned and sat up, clutching his head as he did so.

"Ugh," he muttered. "Albus, what happened?" he glanced round the office and frowned. "How did I end up in your office?"

Albus smiled a soft smile.

"You dropped out of the sky," he said calmly. "I have to admit, I was slightly surprised by your entrance, but now, well, it appears to make sense. You've time travelled." He added as explanation to the strange look Sirius was giving him.

Sirius' mouth dropped open.

"Time travelled?" he managed to gape.

Albus nodded, looking slightly amused by Sirius's alarmed face.

"What year is this?" Sirius demanded.

"1977."

Sirius cursed.

"I take that this is a not a good thing?" Albus asked.

Sirius nodded and ran a hand through his matted hair.

"My sixth/seventh year." He muttered.

"I did wonder why you looked so familiar." Sirius detected a hint of amusement in his headmaster's voice. "Well, it's nice to see you make it out of school alive, Sirius."

Sirius glanced up sharply at this to see Dumbledore beaming down at him.

"But then again," Dumbledore added. "I don't see why that should surprise me. You and Mr Potter have always had a way of worming you're way out of sticky situations."

Sirius felt his stomach clench at the mention of his deceased friend, of course James would be alive in this time. He was, after all, only seventeen.

He was just about to open his mouth to ask Dumbledore something when the door opened and two women walked in, Sirius instantly recognised them as Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey.

"I see you managed to wake him, Albus." Professor McGonagall said as Madam Pomfrey immediately knelt beside him and began checking his heart rate before sticking a thermometer in his mouth before inspecting his body for any signs of injury. She eventually stood up after the thermometer beeped and turned to face both McGonagall and Dumbledore.

"He's in perfectly good health," she said. "Do you need me for anything else, Albus? It's just that I've got a stack of healing potions to brew, and seeing as it's Mr Potter and Mr Black's last year, I have a feeling I'm going to need them."

Albus chuckled.

"Sensing much trouble, Poppy?" he asked.

"There's always trouble with Potter and Black," Pomfrey replied, but she said it with an affectionate tone to her voice.

"You may leave, Poppy, thank you," Albus replied. "Minerva, you too are free to leave."

Sirius watched as McGonagall glanced between Dumbledore and him – who was still sat on the floor- before nodding and departing with Poppy.

"Well," Dumbledore said as Sirius rose to his feet. "Perhaps we should discuss this in more detail, tea?" he asked.

Sirius nodded and watched as Dumbledore tapped his wand at a kettle that stood behind him and it began to whistle.

"Please, Mr Black," Dumbledore said as he began to pour the hot water in the tea cups, "take a seat, milk no sugar, correct?"

Sirius nodded before accepting the tea that Dumbledore handed him.

"Thanks," he murmured.

"Well, Mr Black," Dumbledore said as he sank into his own throne like chair, "Why don't you start from the beginning?"

So, Sirius launched into an explanation of what had happened, telling him everything from James and Lily's death, his imprisonment in Azkaban, his escape all the way to his battle with Bellatrix in the Department of Mysteries.

"Hmm," Dumbledore said, obviously in deep thought. "Well, Mr Black," he said. "We do appear to have ourselves in a deep predicament," he rested the tips of his long fingertips together and leaned forwards. "Until we can figure out a way to send you back to your time, without contaminating the time line continuum, you will have to remain here."

Sirius stared at him.

"Remain here?" he asked.

Dumbledore nodded.

"How would you feel about becoming the new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor?"

* * *

Platform nine and three quarters was crowded as parents gave last minute hugs to their children, steam rose from the scarlet engine that sat there, it let out a warning whistle and a stream of children immediately began boarding it. Amongst this stream of children were two tall, dark haired teenage boys who had just bid goodbye to the bespectacled boy's parents.

"Oi, Moony!" the taller of the two shouted, spotting the familiar light brown hair of their friend.

'Moony' turned and smiled brightly at his two friends.

"Wondered where you two had got too," he said. "Peter's in a compartment," he jerked his head towards a compartment door. "Prefects meetings about to start, James." He said, addressing the messy haired teen.

"Righto," James replied pushing his glasses up his nose and straightening his Head Boy's badge, causing Sirius to smirk.

"I still can't believe you got that," he said. "Evans is going to freak."

James rolled his eyes at his best mate before following Remus down the hall towards the front of the train.

"Make sure you save me some food, Pads!" he called back over his shoulder.

"Okay!" Sirius yelled back before sliding the compartment door open to find Peter sat there, his tongue between his teeth as he attempted to build a tower out of a pack of exploding snap cards.

Sirius watched in amusement as he took a seat across from Peter.

"Peter," he said casually.

Peter nodded back, concentrating on the tower.

"Sirius," he replied. "Where's James?"

"Prefect's meeting," Sirius said, sprawling himself across the seat. "Head Boy."

Peter blinked in surprise causing him to lose concentration, the result being that the cards exploded leaving Peter with singed eyebrows and Sirius to snigger at his friend.

"Apart from the explosion, that was my reaction," Sirius said with a grin before lying on his back and staring at the ceiling. "I wonder why Dumbledore made him Head Boy."

Meanwhile, further down the train, Sirius' question was currently being voiced by a frustrated, annoyed and slightly angry red headed female by the name of Lily Evans.

"Potter!" she cried as James slid open the compartment door. "What are you doing here?"

James looked at her.

"I'm Head Boy?" he said, the statement coming out as more of a question.

Lily stared at him.

"Head Boy?" she asked. "You?"

"Yes, me." James said starting to feel slightly annoyed now.

"Why on earth would Dumbledore make you head boy?"

James scowled as Lily voiced the question. He was the first to admit that he had been surprised by Dumbledore's decision, but he didn't think Lily needed to sound so surprised. After all, for the past year he had been behaving himself, he hadn't bullied Snape, at least not in front of her, he believed he had grown up somewhat and he had received excellent results in his O.W.L's. It wasn't like he was a complete idiot, sure, he received the odd detention every now and again, and yes, on several occasions, he had lost more house points than necessary, but he had always managed to win them back in Quidditch matches.

"No need to sound so surprised, Evans," he replied annoyed as he stepped fully into the compartment. "Let's just get this meeting over with." With that he sank into a seat beside her and crossed his arms, waiting for her to begin.

After several moments of staring blankly at him, she cleared her throat and began to speak.

Further back up the train, Sirius, now bored with watching Peter, had bought a small, rubber bouncy ball out of his pocket and was throwing it up in the air to amuse himself.

"I wonder what's taking them so long," he muttered as he tossed the ball into the air before deftly catching it.

Across from him, Peter shrugged, his eyebrows now nearly none existent from the amount of times he had been singed.

"Not a clue." He muttered.

Sirius spared him a glance before returning to throwing the ball into the air and catching it.

"Wish they'd hurry up," he muttered. "I want to pull a prank on Snivellus. Do you realise, it has been precisely two months, fifteen days and seventeen hours since I last pranked the greasy haired git."

"Uh-Hu." Peter replied, not really paying attention to what Sirius was saying.

Sirius noticed his tone of voice and rolled his eyes before sitting up and pocketing the ball.

"I'm going to see what's taking them so long," he said and rose from his seat just as the compartment door opened to reveal Remus and a sour looking James.

"About time!" Sirius cried. "What's the matter with you, Prongs?" he added, seeing James' face.

James muttered a word that sounded like "Evans" before flopping moodily into the seat by the window and staring out of it.

Sirius turned to face Remus, who sighed.

"Lily was surprised to find out he was Head Boy and may of accidently insulted him." Remus replied.

Sirius let out a snort of laughter.

"What did you expect, mate?" he asked turning to James. "For her to throw her arms around you and confess her everlasting love?" he snorted and clapped James on the shoulder. "Forget her, it's her loss anyway."

James sent him a withering look.

"It's kind of hard to do that when you're in love with someone." He stated.

Sirius waved it away.

"You don't love her, Prongs," he said. "You just think you do, you'll get over her soon enough."

"Doubt it," James replied moodily before turning to stare back out of the window.

Remus rolled his eyes at Sirius.

"Excellent job, Pads." He muttered.

Sirius just shrugged and begun to set out a game of chess leaving James to sulk at the window.

* * *

Sirius sat at the teachers table and stared out at the sea of students filing into the Great Hall chatting animatedly to each other as they went. His eyes moved to the Gryffindor table and he scanned it until his eyes landed upon a group of four boys, one of whom was looking over at the Slytherin table, a smirk on his face and a twinkle in his eyes. He immediately recognised the boy as himself at seventeen.

Beside his younger self sat a boy with messy jet black hair, hazel eyes and glasses who was sat staring moodily at his plate, across from him sat a boy with light brown hair, faint scars running across his face and sympathetic amber eyes that were looking at the messy haired teen. Next to the light haired boy sat a small, watery eyed boy with straw like hair.

Sirius felt anger coarse through him as he looked down at the traitor of the group. Even though Sirius knew that Peter hadn't technically done anything wrong yet, just the thought of him betraying James and Lily made him want to pull out his wand and hex and curse the boy until he could barely stand.

Once the sorting was over, Dumbledore rose and made a speech, mentioning Sirius in it, who acknowledged it with a smile and a nod from his seat, and then the feast began.

The minute the food popped up in front of him, Sirius' stomach growled and he realised it had been a long time since he had eaten a decent meal. He didn't particularly trust the house elf with his food out of fear that he might poison him and so had taken to making his own dinner, which had never ended in a good result.

Grabbing a chicken leg, he bit hungrily into it causing Flitwick, who was sat beside him, to let out an amused chuckle before tucking into his own dinner.

Slightly embarrassed by that, Sirius began to slow up on his eating, but still continued to grab things from plates. By the time the feast had finished, Sirius was well and truly stuffed.

Bidding good night to his fellow teachers, he headed towards his office, kicked off his shoes, pulled of his clothes and slid beneath the freshly laundered covers ready for a long, restful sleep.

**A/N: Well, what do you think? Would appreciate the reviews to let me know whether or not you like it, would make my day, hint, hint…**


	3. Professor Century

**Disclaimer: You should know by now.**

**Summary: **When Sirius fell through the veil, he didn't die, but was instead sent back in time, to be more precise, his last year of Hogwarts. Now the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor he finds himself disliking his younger self but drawn to a sixth year student by the name of Willow Briar. But nothing can happen between a student and a teacher, right? SBXOC

Chapter Two – Professor Century

The sun peeked in through a slit in the curtains splaying itself across the face of a dark haired, handsome man who was sleeping soundly in his large, four poster bed. Groaning, he rolled over but the ray of sun followed him, lazing across his eyes as if determined for the man to awake. The man in question merely grabbed a pillow and placed it over his face, effectively blocking out the piece of sun. However, Mother Nature was not one to give up easily.

A loud 'crack' resounded around the room causing the man in bed to bolt upright, fumbling for his wand, which was placed on the night stand, and point it towards the direction of the crack, only to find a small house elf wearing a clean white loin cloth.

"Sorry if Beanie scared you," the house elf apologised, "But Master Dumbledore asked me to remind you that you start lessons this morning."

Sirius lowered his wand.

"Sorry," he apologised. "You just surprised me."

Beanie bowed low.

"Sorry, Beanie didn't mean too."

Sirius shrugged.

"S'Alright," he replied with a yawn. "Thanks."

The house elf nodded before he disapparated with a loud crack.

Yawning and stretching, Sirius clambered out of bed and headed into the bathroom and into the shower. Washing his hair and scrubbing himself clean with some soap that had a lemony smell to it, he stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his middle and glanced at his reflection in the mirror.

He had small signs of stubble showing on his face and his hair was getting a bit long, but other than that he looked quite decent. Deciding to shave anyway, Sirius did so before exiting the bathroom and dressing himself in a pair of black trousers and a crisp white shirt that he found in his wardrobe before throwing his robe from yesterday on and heading towards the Great Hall for breakfast.

The Great Hall was slowly filling up with students as Sirius approached, a flash of red caught his eye and he turned to see a young woman with long, dark red hair talking to another young woman, she turned her head slightly and Sirius caught the startling green almond shape of her eyes. He felt his stomach turn as he realised he was looking at a seventeen year old Lily Evans, his best friend's wife and his godson's mother.

Even after she had sat down at the Gryffindor table Sirius found himself frozen in the middle of the doorway that led into the Great Hall and it wasn't until someone bumped into him that he realised he was still stood there, shaking his head from his daze, he strode down the length of the Great Hall and took his seat beside Professor Flitwick, piling his plate with food, his eyes darting every now and again towards where Lily was sat surrounded by her friends.

* * *

"I wonder what Defence will be like with Professor Century." Remus Lupin mused as he settled into his seat at the Gryffindor table.

Across from him both James Potter and Sirius Black shrugged before piling their plate with food.

"Don't know," James said as he spooned scrambled egg onto his plate, "as long as he's a good teacher, I don't really care."

"Yeah," agreed Sirius, piling bacon onto his plate, "Let's just hope he's better than Professor Mountain last year, he was a right bore."

Remus raised his eyebrow.

"He wasn't that bad," he said. "You just didn't like him because of the amount of detentions he gave you."

Sirius scowled at his friend from across the table just as Professor McGonagall approached them, timetables in hand.

"Well," James commented as he glanced at his timetable – Professor McGonagall having moved on – "we'll find out soon enough, we've got him first period." He tapped the timetable with his right index finger.

Both Remus and Sirius glanced at it.

"Excellent," Sirius said with a grin. "Time to find out if Professor Century can handle us."

Remus sighed deeply and tucked his timetable into his satchel.

"For once, Sirius," he said. "Could we just be nice to a teacher?"

The look Sirius sent him caused him to sigh deeply once more.

"Just don't drag me into this." He muttered before returning to his food.

After finishing breakfast, all four of them headed towards the Defence classroom which was located on the fifth floor, they were five minutes late and were surprised to find that the rest of the class were still stood outside the classroom.

"He's not even here yet?" Sirius asked, disbelievingly. "Well, that has to be a first."

"Agreed." Remus said nodding.

"I wonder where he's got to." James added, craning his neck to look for Professor Century.

There was the sound of hurried footsteps and the whole class turned to see Professor Century stride round the corner, his robes billowing out behind him.

"Sorry I'm late," he called, pointing his wand at the door so that it clicked open. "Everyone enter and find a seat."

The class did as they were told streaming into the classroom. James, Sirius, Remus and Peter bought up the rear, Professor Century behind them.

"Not had a very good start to the day, has he?" Sirius muttered as they made their way to the back for their usual seats.

Both James and Remus shrugged before the four of them settled into their seats as Professor Century turned and began writing on the black board at the front.

When he had finished he turned to them, rubbing his hands together.

"Welcome to seventh year Defence against the Dark Arts." He said, resting his hands on the back of the chair and leaning forwards. "Seeing as we neither know each other, I thought we'd go through the class and say our name before saying something interesting about ourselves, I'll start." He added. "My name is Harry Century and I love Quidditch." He gestured his hand to the front row. "We'll start right to left and make our way back." He said.

The class nodded and each person began to say their name as well as some interesting fact about themselves.

James didn't pay much attention to what everyone was saying until it reached Lily Evans. She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear before replying.

"My name's Lily Evans," she said clearly, "and chocolate brownies are my weakness."

Professor Century flashed her a smile.

"Understandable of course, Miss Evans," he said before moving onto the next person.

Eventually he reached James, Sirius, Remus and Peter. Peter was up first.

"My name's Peter Pettigrew," he squeaked. "And I live with my mother."

Professor Century nodded and moved onto Remus who smiled weakly.

"My name is Remus Lupin," he said, "and I love Honeydukes chocolate." He blushed slightly and a smile appeared on Professor Century's face.

"Don't we all, Mr Lupin," he said before turning to Sirius.

Sirius grinned lazily and tipped his chair back so that it was balancing on two legs.

"My name is Sirius Black," he said casually, "and I'm a trouble maker."

A ripple of laughter ran through the classroom as well as a sniff from Lily's direction. Professor Century's face remained impassive as he turned to James.

"I'm James Potter," James said, "and, erm, well, I didn't expect to become Head Boy." He offered, rubbing the back of his head with his hand.

Professor Century nodded and clapped his hands together.

"Well," he said, "now that we've got introductions out of the way, let's get on with the lesson. If you wouldn't mind turning your book open to page forty seven, I want to do a quick re-cap of the use of defensive spells vs. offensive spells, and I suggest you read the text carefully as this will be your homework tonight, to write me at least a scroll of parchment on the use of defensive spells vs. offensive spells. I want to see quotes within the text from the book itself, but I don't want the whole section of the book re-written," He paused and looked at Sirius. "I want it in your own words."

The class nodded and began flicking through the book. Professor Century's eyes lingered on Sirius for a bit, making him feel slightly uncomfortable before Professor Century turned away and sat down behind his desk leaving Sirius to turn to his book, the words swimming before him on the page as he wondered why Professor Century had stared at him so much.

* * *

Sirius sat behind his desk writing up a lesson plan for the next time he had the seventh year class. He wanted to do a practical with them and was currently trying to figure out how best to partner them when a knock on the door caused him to glance up to see Lily Evans stood in the door way.

"Miss Evans," he said pleasantly, motioning for her to come in. "What can I do for you?"

Lily approached the desk and held out two roles of parchment for him.

"It's the homework you set us," she said. "I finished it early and thought you might like it."

Sirius smiled slightly, Lily had always handed homework in early, and usually on the same day it was set.

"Take a seat," he said taking the scrolls of parchment from her. "I'll mark them now."

Lily nodded and took a seat as Sirius unfurled the parchment, scanning through it.

The essay was good, her writing was fluid and appropriate quotes were used to support her thought and/or suggestions. Overall, it was rather an amazing essay and Sirius didn't think he could have written a better one himself. Smiling to himself, he scrawled outstanding at the top of the first piece of parchment and handed it back to her.

"Well done, Miss Evans." He said.

Lily's cheeks flushed red with pleasure as she read the mark he had given her.

"Thank you, Professor," she said.

Sirius smiled at her kindly.

"No problem, Miss Evans." He replied.

Lily beamed at him before pocketing the parchment in her satchel and heading out of his office and towards his next class.

Sirius watched her go before glancing at his watch and sighing. He supposed he should get ready for his next class too.

Grabbing his wand he headed out of his office and into the classroom. Opening the classroom door he was surprised to find that his sixth year class was already lined up outside waiting for him. They turned to face him expectantly when he opened the door.

"Come in," Sirius said, stepping back.

The bunch of sixth years trailed in and took their seats waiting for him to start. Sirius had to admit they were a lot quieter than the seventh years; he supposed it was because they didn't have his younger self in their year, who had amused himself by rocking back on his chair every now and again.

Clearing his throat, he began the lesson the same way he had with the seventh years before asking them to put their books away and stand away from their desks. They did this quietly and with a wave of his wand, the desks were piled to the side of the classroom leaving an open floor on which to duel.

"Non-verbal spells," he said to the class. "Can anyone tell me the advantage of a non-verbal spell?"

A few hands rose.

Sirius looked round at them all before picking one, a young girl with dark brown hair that was pulled back into a ponytail; she had the Gryffindor symbol emblazed on her robes.

"Because non-verbal spells are non-verbal, the opposition has no warning about what spell, curse, hex or even kind of magic you are going to use." She said. "This therefore gives you a split second advantage above your opponent."

Sirius smiled at her.

"Excellent, Miss…"

"Briar." She replied.

Sirius nodded before facing the class once more.

"I want you to pair up and practice non-verbal spells," he said. "Start with the shield charm, I take it you all know how to do a shield charm?"

The class nodded and split off into pairs. Sirius noticed that the dark haired girl who had answered his question earlier had paired with a brunette Hufflepuff girl who grinned cheekily at her. The dark haired girl returned it.

Sirius walked round the class noticing that many of the sixth years kept their lips pressed tightly together to refrain themselves from muttering the spell out loud. As he observed the class he also noticed that the sixth years were slightly more relaxed in who they partnered with. Not one of the houses had paired with another person from their house, however, the feud between Gryffindor and Slytherin was still intact as not one person from Gryffindor was partnered with a Slytherin and vice versa.

Ten minutes later, and still no hexes had been fired or deflected and so Sirius called the class to a halt.

"Perhaps a demonstration is in order," he suggested. "Would anyone mind being an assistant for a while?"

The class looked at each other, muttering before a hand appeared in the air; it was the same girl from earlier. Sirius nodded and she stepped forwards.

"I'm going to send a simple disarming spell at you," he told her.

The girl nodded while Sirius stepped back before sending a red jet of light straight at her, the girl moved her hand slightly, bringing it up to her chest, and the spell bounced harmlessly off thin air.

Sirius blinked in surprise before a smile crossed his face.

"Well, that was a surprise," he grinned before getting into stance. "You hex me."

The girl eyed him before shrugging and raising her wand. She chewed her lip momentarily as if thinking of a spell to use and then she looked at him.

Sirius was taken aback by the intensity of her eyes. They were rather a vivid blue, and reminded him of the sea at night. He was so taken aback by the young girls' eyes that he completely missed the spell she sent at him and found himself flying backwards, his wand slipping from his grasp. He landed hard against the wall.

There was a collective gasp from the class.

"Professor!"

Sirius glanced up to see Miss Briar running over, a concerned look on her face, in her hand she held two wands.

"Are you okay, Professor?" she asked, chewing her lip.

Sirius nodded.

"Fine," he said, standing up and dusting down his robes before turning to smile at him. "Twenty points to Gryffindor, Miss Briar." He said.

The young girl's cheeks heated up as she smiled.

"Class Dismissed." Sirius called.

And with that, the class filed out of the classroom chattering to one another, leaving Sirius alone with his thoughts.

**A/N: Sirius' first day of class, the idea of the shield charm and non-verbal spells, is, of course, taken from the Half Blood Prince, as you may be able to tell. Remember, reviews keep me going…**

**Thanks to;**

**mondaymugs**

**mysterymuffin**

**BlackCat718**

**thanks guys :)**


	4. The reason

**Disclaimer: You should know by now.**

**Summary: **When Sirius fell through the veil, he didn't die, but was instead sent back in time, to be more precise, his last year of Hogwarts. Now the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor he finds himself disliking his younger self but drawn to a sixth year student by the name of Willow Briar. But nothing can happen between a student and a teacher, right? SBXOC

Chapter Three – The reason

While the older Sirius was alone in his classroom with his thoughts, the young Sirius was currently making his way back across the grounds having just finished a lesson in Herbology.

"Well that was fun," Sirius muttered, rubbing his arm from where the Venomous tentacular had caught him.

"It's a good job Professor Sprout had that antidote," said Remus.

"Maybe it'll teach you to behave in class, eh, Padfoot?" James replied with a grin.

Sirius scowled at him and was about to open his mouth to retort when someone collided hard into him causing him to fall to the floor, with a loud "Oof!", the person who had collided with him falling on top of him.

"Sorry," a voice apologised and the person who had fallen on him removed themselves off of him. "You alright?"

Sirius nodded, scrambling to his own feet, before turning to face the person to tell them to learn to watch where they were going, but his tongue stopped as he glanced at the person.

It was a young girl, at least five inches shorter than him, her dark brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her blue eyes were looking at him with concern. He noticed that the Gryffindor badge was emblazed on her robes.

Forcing a smile he waved his hand.

"It's alright," he said, brushing a piece of mud off his sleeve. "You just might want to look where you're going next time."

The girl nodded, her cheeks colouring and she opened her mouth to say something but jerked in surprise as something hit her. Sirius blinked and watched as her hair began to rapidly turn a dark shade of pink, the girl too noticed it and whirled round.

"Isabella!" she cried.

There was a sound of laughter and a tall, willowy looking dark haired girl walked into view, a grin on her face and a wand in her hand.

"I think it suits you," she said twirling her wand between her fingertips. "Wouldn't you say?" she glanced at the boys.

Before him, the young girl seethed before a small smile crossed her face and she shrugged.

"Might as well keep it," she said, Sirius noticed she pulled her wand slowly out of her robe pocket, "but you have to join me," and with that she struck.

Isabella's face widened in surprise as the spell hit her on the chin and a small, dark goatee began to grow.

"Willow!" she gasped, feeling the beard.

Willow laughed and grinned at her distressed friend.

"Don't dish out what you can't take," she teased before turning and running down towards the Greenhouses.

Isabella narrowed her eyes and set off after her, her wand pointed in front of her.

"You are so dead, Briar!" she screamed.

They heard Willow laugh in response and turned to watch as she turned round, jogging backwards.

"Only if you can catch me!" she cried.

"Well," Remus said once they were out of sight, "That was entertaining."

Sirius nodded a grin on his face.

"And Evans says we're immature," he commented. "Wonder what she'd do if she saw those two."

James just shrugged and started to head back up towards the castle. Sirius glanced at Remus, who shrugged, before hurrying after him.

"Hey Prongs," he said, slinging an arm around his best friend. "You're not still upset about what Evans said, are you?"

James shook his head, but Sirius could see the sadness on his face. He sighed, deeply.

"Look, Prongs," he said. "We all know you fancy Evans, but you've got to get over this. Sure, she's pretty but she treats you like dirt, mate."

James looked at him and Sirius could see the pain in his eyes.

"I don't fancy her, Pads," he whispered. "I love her."

Sirius sighed deeply.

"Okay, so you love her, prove her wrong then. Show her your better than the giant squid." He added with a grin.

James scowled at him.

"And I'd just forgotten all about that." He muttered

Sirius laughed.

"Cheer up, mate," he said. "You'll get your precious lily flower, don't you worry."

James sighed and ran a hand through his hair, making it messier than it already was.

"I hope so." He muttered.

* * *

It was after dinner now and Sirius was walking along the halls of corridors, familiarising himself with the place he had once – was, he corrected – living. He smiled as he remembered great memories from the place, the amount of trouble he, James, Remus and Peter got into, the secret passages they found and the creation of the Marauders Map that had soon followed after.

He was so wrapped up in his memories that he didn't hear someone calling his name and jumped when something touched him.

"Professor?"

Sirius turned to see Willow Briar from his sixth year class stood there, an amused smile on her face.

"In your own little word, sir?" she asked, a hint of a smile on her face.

Sirius found that he couldn't help but smile back.

"Just a little," he replied.

Willow's smile widened.

"Well, guess I should leave you too it, Professor." She said, heading down the stairs, she turned halfway down. "Oh, and if you see a tall, olive skinned girl called Isabella," she said. "You didn't see me."

Sirius raised an eyebrow but Willow had already turned and gone. Sirius watched her go with a smile. She was rather an interesting young girl.

Carrying on his walk, Sirius found himself heading for the third floor; he rounded the corner to find a bunch of students in a huddle around two people who appeared to be fighting.

"C'mon Snivellus!" he heard his voice cry. "You can do better than that!"

There was a snarl followed by a laugh and a flash and Sirius found himself staring at a pair of ankles that hung in mid-air.

Groaning, Sirius ran a hand over his face. He didn't like Snape and the two of them had thought constantly at school, he knew that. But, as a teacher he shouldn't let this happen. Knowing he was going to regret it later, Sirius stepped forwards, the crowd quieting and parting when they saw him.

"I suggest you put Mr Snape down, Mr Black." He said calmly.

His younger self whipped round to face him, an arrogant grin on his face.

"Of course, Professor." He said, and, with a casual flick of his wand, he released Snape who landed with a crash on the floor causing several students to burst into laughter at the sight and anger to course through Sirius.

He didn't like Snape, he would happily admit that, but, in a way, he owed Snape. It killed him to admit it, but he owed Snape. If it hadn't been for Snape they wouldn't have known that Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and some of their friends were in danger due to Voldermort placing a fake memory in Harry's head.

Scowling at his younger self, he moved forwards and helped a flushed Snape to his feet before rounding on himself.

"Detention," he told him. "Now."

His younger self looked unbothered by the prospect of detention and after sending a smirk in Snape's direction he dutifully followed Sirius to his office.

"So," his younger self said as they walked towards Sirius' office. "What am I going to be doing in detention, Professor?" he asked.

Sirius gritted his teeth at the amused tone in his younger version's voice and refused to reply until they were safely inside the classroom, he then rounded on his younger self who still looked extremely pleased with himself.

"You, Mr Black," he said. "Are going to write an apology letter to Mr Snape, apologising for humiliating him in front of his fellow peers, do you understand?"

His younger self's mouth dropped open.

"You're joking!" he cried.

Sirius knew he was punishing himself, but, at this moment in time, he didn't care.

"Tell me, Mr Black," his voice dangerously low. "Do I look like I'm joking?"

His younger self's mouth dropped open in abject disbelief.

"Fine," he muttered. "But I'm not going to like it."

"I never said you had too." Sirius said handing him a piece of paper and a quill. "And I will be checking with Mr Snape to see whether or not he received the letter."

His younger self scowled darkly as he took the parchment and quill before flopping into a seat, grumbling as he wrote.

Sirius watched him and sighed.

What was he getting himself into?

* * *

James Potter sat in the Gryffindor common room in an armchair by the fire, his two best friends, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, sat with him. Remus was currently helping Peter with the Herbology essay they had been set while James was lounging in his chair waiting for Sirius to turn up.

Five minutes later and the portrait hole opened revealing a heavily scowling Sirius Black, who looked round the common room, before spotting them and walking over.

"Jeez, Pads," James said as he noticed the scowl. "What's with you?"

"Detention with Professor Century." Sirius muttered, sitting down in the chair beside James and scowling darkly at the fire.

James raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"Was it really that bad?" he asked.

"Yes!" Sirius hissed. "He made me write an apology letter to Snape," he pulled a screwed up piece of parchment out of his pocket and shoved it at James. "I have to actually give it to him as well; he's going to check with Snape to make sure."

James glanced at the parchment, reading the apology before handing it back to Sirius who shoved it back into his pocket.

"I'm not giving it him." He said stubbornly.

"Okay." James replied.

"I refuse," Sirius carried on. "I will never apologise to Snape."

James just nodded.

"Why should I?" Sirius continued to rant. "I hate him and he hates me, we're enemies. He's up to his eyeballs in the dark arts, for all we know he could already be a death eater, technically I'm doing the world a favour by getting rid of him!"

"The world or you?" Remus asked, glancing up from where he was helping Peter.

Sirius scowled at him.

"Snape's an idiot." He huffed.

Remus made no comment but looked at James before returning to help Peter with the essay leaving James to deal with Sirius' foul mood.

"I hate Professor Century," he added venomously.

James raised an eyebrow.

"Little harsh, don't you think?" he asked.

Sirius ignored him, staring into space.

"I think we should do something to him." He said.

"Do something to whom?" James asked.

Sirius looked at him.

"To Professor Century," he said, a grin spreading across his face. "We should prank him."

James' eyebrows shot up.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Pads." He said. "We don't know what Professor Century's capable of, and besides, we've never really pranked a teacher before."

"Always time to start." Sirius said getting up from the couch.

"Where are you going?" James asked as Sirius headed towards the portrait hole.

"For a walk." Sirius replied.

James watched him go, before sighing. He stood up and followed his best mate and brother out of the portrait hole.

Somehow, he knew he was going to regret this later, he always did.

**A/N: Okay, a bit of a random chapter, I'll give, but I needed something to fill the gap as well as link in how the prank on Professor Century aka older Sirius came about. **

**Hope you liked it, and remember…**

**Reviews are the food of life…**

**Until next time,**

**Wacky Wizard **


	5. Too far

**Disclaimer: You should know by now.**

**Summary: **When Sirius fell through the veil, he didn't die, but was instead sent back in time, to be more precise, his last year of Hogwarts. Now the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor he finds himself disliking his younger self but drawn to a sixth year student by the name of Willow Briar. But nothing can happen between a student and a teacher, right? SBXOC

Chapter Four – Too far

The prank had been decided.

James had tried to talk Sirius out of it, but the prankster side of him had finally won out over the Head Boy, and although he wasn't really nervous about doing it, he was excited about the outcome.

They had decided that the prank should be done publicly and had decided it should be done at dinner when the whole school was gathered as one.

Throughout the lessons of the day they had planned the prank to precision. They had a free period before dinner and so had decided to use this as the perfect time to charm Professor Century's cutlery.

Sirius had asked both Remus and Peter whether they would like to be in on the prank, and while Peter had accepted, Remus had refused, stating that he wished to have no part in pranking a teacher, and, although Sirius grumbled that he was a "spoil sport" he had accepted Remus decision.

Using James invisibility cloak and the Marauders Map, to keep an eye on Professor Century, who was currently in class teaching, they headed into the Great Hall.

The four tables were all set out, all of them ready for dinner; here and there a few house-elves were cleaning some of the cutlery, the teachers table stood untouched.

Both James and Sirius crept up to the teachers table, Peter was stationed outside, ready to warn them if someone came. While James watched, Sirius pulled out his wand and began to mutter the spell over the cutlery where Professor Century usually sat; he watched as the cutlery glowed yellow before dying down and heard Sirius snigger from beside him.

"I can't wait to see his face when it happens," he muttered as they hurried back outside to the Entrance Hall to find Peter.

James just nodded mutely, still not entirely convinced by the plan.

When they arrived outside the Entrance Hall it was to find Peter being questioned by Professor McGonagall, who was eyeing him suspiciously.

"Well, Pettigrew?" she asked, her arms folded.

Peter blinked rapidly and twisted his hands, a sign of nervousness.

"I'm just waiting for my friends, Professor." He replied.

McGonagall didn't look convinced.

James elbowed Sirius in the side and jerked his head to where a suit of armour stood. Sirius nodded in understanding and the two of them hurried over, making sure no-one was coming, James whipped the invisibility cloak of them both and stuffed in hurriedly in his pocket before both he and Sirius stepped out from behind and moved towards Peter who was still being questioned by Professor McGonagall.

"There you are, Peter!" Sirius cried jovially as he strolled towards Peter, James following behind, a smile plastered on his face. "Been looking everywhere for you, mate. Professor." He added, glancing at Professor McGonagall who eyed both him and James apprehensively.

"Black, Potter." She said, looking at the two of them.

"Professor," James replied, a smile plastered on his own face.

Professor McGonagall surveyed them both through narrowed eyes before sniffing.

"Run along, boys," she said. "I'm sure you all have some sort of homework to be doing."

"Of course, Professor." Sirius replied, still grinning.

With one last suspicious look on her face, McGonagall turned on her heel and left, heading up the stairs and out of sight.

"That was close," Sirius said, once she had turned the corner. "Well played, Wormtail." He clapped Peter on the back.

Peter looked pleased with the praise Sirius had given him and tagged along after the two of them.

"Do you think it'll work, Sirius?" he asked excitedly.

Sirius grinned, a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Of course it will," he replied confidently.

James smiled as well before chewing on his lip. He just hoped he wasn't caught; he didn't want Lily thinking he was any bad than she already thought.

Sirius walked through the dark corridors of the dungeons, having just come back from the Slytherin common room. He had just had a small conversation with Snape, and although he loathed the boy, he managed to keep his feelings under control. Snape had been quite civil towards him, replying that his younger self had indeed given him a letter of apology, and although Snape didn't entirely want to forgive him, he had taken the letter anyway.

As he walked up towards the Great Hall he thought back over the conversation that he had with Snape.

"_Professor," Snape had said politely as he emerged from the wall that was the Slytherin Common Room. _

"_Mr Snape," Sirius had replied courteously, standing straight from the wall he had been leaning on. "I came to ask if Mr Black had given you a letter of apology."_

_Snape had blinked in surprise before nodding._

"_He did," he replied. "And while I appreciate the thought, Professor, I wouldn't have bothered."_

_Sirius frowned._

"_And why not?" he asked reminding himself to be polite._

_Snape shrugged, looking slightly put-out._

"_Because, he's just going to do it again. Black and Potter always do." He said both Sirius and James' name with disgust._

"_And why do you think that is, Mr Snape?" Sirius asked, trying to keep his voice calm._

"_Because I'm a Slytherin," Snape replied. "Black hates Slytherins for obvious reasons, his family were Slytherins, and we all know he despises them, and Potter, well, Potter dislikes me because I was friends with the girl he fancies."_

_Even though Sirius knew this, he was still surprised by the depressed note in Snape's tone at the mention of Lily._

"_Well," Sirius said, feeling slightly uncomfortable now. "I'm sure Mr Black and Mr Potter will think about how they treat you from now on, Mr Black especially."_

_Snape had snorted at this._

"_I doubt that," he muttered. "No offence to you, Professor," he added, glancing up at Sirius through his greasy hair. "But, both Black and Potter will never stop picking on me, and, admittedly, I will never stop trying to hex and curse them either. It's who we are, and, I'm afraid, there's nothing even you can do about that. Good day, Professor."_

_With that, Snape had turned and muttered the password to the wall before stepping inside, the wall swallowing him up._

_Sirius stared at the wall and blinked in surprise. He didn't like Snape, he never would, but a part of him felt very sorry for him at that moment. It was clear from his tone of voice, that Snape had experienced a lot of misery throughout his life, and so, being hexed by both his younger self and James, was something he continued to expect. It also appeared, from the conversation, that Lily was the only friend he had ever actually cared for, and for her not to be his friend, well, that was depressing within itself._

Sighing, Sirius entered the Great Hall and made his way towards the teachers table, nodding in greeting to students as they acknowledged his presence.

"Harry," Professor Sprout said, greeting him as he settled into his seat.

Sirius nodded. It was weird being referred to as his godson, but he couldn't exactly call himself by his real name, and when Dumbledore had asked him for an alternative name, Harry had been the first one to pop into his head, and so, Harry it was.

"Pomona," he replied in greeting, smiling at his Herbology Professor.

Professor Sprout beamed at him before turning back to her conversation with the Astronomy Professor.

Turning to his own plate, Sirius ladled some shepherds' pie onto his plate before reaching for his knife and fork, to his complete surprise both the knife and fork jumped forwards.

Blinking at what had happened, Sirius tried again.

Again, the same thing happened.

Frowning, Sirius waited a few seconds before slowly reaching a hand out before snatching at his fork. The fork jumped out of the way at the last second, causing Sirius' hand to smack into wood, the sound echoing across the teacher's table.

Wincing at the pain in his hand, Sirius snatched at his knife, this too moved out of the way causing his other hand to hit the wood with a loud "thud".

"Everything alright, Harry?" Professor Flitwick asked in his squeaky voice.

Sirius glanced up to see the whole of the teachers table looking at him. He forced a smile.

"Fine," he replied, before lunging at his fork which flipped out of the way.

Growling in frustration and annoyance, Sirius snatched at both pieces of cutlery which jumped into the air and stabbed him in his hands.

"Agh!"

Sirius' yell echoed throughout the Great Hall causing the chattering to still. Grinding his teeth, and conscious that everyone was staring at him, Sirius gingerly removed the knife and fork from his hands, blood immediately started dribbling out of the wounds causing both Professor Sprout and Flitwick to gasp from beside him.

Gritting his teeth, Sirius gingerly pulled his wand from his back pocket and tapped both his hands, immediately his hands repaired themselves.

The sound of sniggering reached his ears and Sirius glanced up to see his younger self smirking at him.

Anger coursed through every inch of Sirius' body and before he knew what was happening he had pushed back his seat and was storming towards the Gryffindor table. As he approached he heard James mutter:

"I think you might have gone too far with this one, Pads."

He reached the four of them and glared heavily at his younger self who merely smiled back, amused.

"Something the matter, Professor?" he asked innocently.

Sirius snarled.

"Get up," he hissed.

His younger self's smirk widened, irritating Sirius even more.

"Get up!" he hissed, his tone venomous.

His younger self did nothing.

"GET UP!" he yelled causing several people around him to jump.

His younger self sighed impatiently and clambered out from behind his seat.

"I don't see what the big deal is," he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "It's just a prank."

Sirius' anger reached boiling point and he whipped out his wand, pointing it at his younger self's throat.

Although his younger self appeared unbothered, Sirius could see the slight apprehension in his eyes.

"I've just about had enough of you," Sirius hissed, the words carrying through the hall due to the silence. "And I've not even been here a week. If you can't accept responsibilities for your actions like a seventeen year old should, then maybe we should send you back to your first year where you can sulk and scowl all you want."

He prodded his younger self in the chest with his wand, leaving a burn mark in his robe.

"I will not tolerate bullying, Mr Black, to students or teachers." He snapped. "For that, you can have fifty house points taken from Gryffindor and detention with me, every Saturday for the next month."

His younger self eyes widened in horror.

"But I'll miss the first Hogsmeade weekend!" he cried.

Sirius smirked.

"Should have thought about that before you pulled the prank." He replied before turning and stalking out of the Great Hall leaving behind a furious younger version.

He had just reached the door of his office when he heard his name called.

"Professor! Professor!"

Turning on his heel, he saw Willow Briar running towards him, her dark hair flying behind her as she ran.

She skidded to a halt before him, breathing heavily.

"What is it, Miss Briar?" he asked, tersely.

Willow breathed deeply, controlling her breath before replying.

"I just wanted to check that you were okay," she pushed a wayward curl out of her face, tucking it behind her ear.

Sirius blinked, surprised at her concern, before nodding.

"I'm fine, Miss Briar." He said. "But thank you, for your concern."

Willow nodded.

"Black's always been a bit of a rouge," she said. "I wouldn't read too much into it, he's got issues."

"You think." Sirius muttered, knowing full well what those "issues" were.

"Well," Willow said, tucking her hair behind her ear again. "If you're okay, I'd better be going. Night, Professor."

"Good night, Miss Briar." Sirius replied.

Willow smiled at him one last time before turning and walking down the corridor. Sirius watched as she disappeared round the corner before sighing and opening the door to his classroom.

He desperately needed some Firewhiskey.

**A/N: Well, there you go. Ever since reading the last book, I've always thought that Sirius needed to know how Snape felt and realise that he cared deeply for Lily, despite what he called her. I also believe that if Sirius could see himself again as a teenager, he'd realise how stupid and idiotic he could be sometimes, but then again, when are most teenage boys not?**

**Anyway, hope you liked it and leave me a review to let me know (hint, hint)**

**Wacky Wizard **


	6. A forgotten memory

**Disclaimer: You should know by now.**

**Summary: **When Sirius fell through the veil, he didn't die, but was instead sent back in time, to be more precise, his last year of Hogwarts. Now the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor he finds himself disliking his younger self but drawn to a sixth year student by the name of Willow Briar. But nothing can happen between a student and a teacher, right? SBXOC

Chapter Five – A forgotten memory

It was official; Sirius was at war with himself.

His younger version was absolutely furious at having been yelled at and threatened by a teacher in front of the whole school.

Now, normally, Sirius would probably not have gotten away with it, but with Dumbledore knowing what he knew, he had let it slide, but warned Sirius not to let his anger get the better of him like that again.

So, just to annoy Sirius even more, his younger self had started pulling pranks on him left, right and centre. Simple things, like tying his shoe laces together so that Sirius had fallen over or turning his hair different colours during class.

Sirius had to take many deep breaths when this had happened to stop himself from killing his younger version.

After nearly a week of pranking, Sirius was at his wits end.

It was after a particular brutal class of having had his hair changed different colours that Sirius snapped.

"Mr Black!" he yelled. "If you continue to change my hair different colours I will give you detention every Saturday for the rest of the year!"

His younger self scowled darkly but stopped changing Sirius' hair different colours, and when Sirius dismissed them, was the first to leave the classroom.

Sighing – more out of frustration than anger – Sirius sank into his chair behind the teacher's desk.

"Professor?"

Sirius' head snapped up at the familiar voice, and sure enough, there, stood before him, was James Potter, his best friend.

"Yes, Mr Potter?" he asked.

James shifted uncomfortably, and glanced at the door before turning back to Sirius and pushing his glasses back up his nose.

"Professor," he started. "I know that Sirius, well, he's being annoying."

Sirius raised an eyebrow.

James rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed.

"I'm not saying you should let him off or anything, but, well," he paused and bit down on his lower lip, a habit he had when he was unsure whether or not he should say something.

"Yes, Mr Potter?" Sirius asked.

James' eyes darted to the door before he sighed wearily; sounding older than Sirius had ever seen him.

"He just found out that his brothers a death eater."

Sirius blinked rapidly before groaning, of course, how on earth could he forget?

_Because you've been ignoring it since you found out, oh, eighteen years ago?_ A snide voice muttered in his head.

"I understand, Mr Potter." He said. "Finding out that someone you care for, even if you refuse to show it, has betrayed you, well, it's a difficult thing. I have experienced a similar thing." He added at James' confused look.

James nodded.

"Don't tell Sirius I told you," he said. "He'd be furious if he found out."

Sirius smiled before making a zipping motion over his mouth.

"My lips are sealed, Mr Potter," he said. "Now hurry along, you don't want to be late for your next lesson, do you?"

James shook his head, and without a backwards glance, left the room.

Sirius watched him go before leaning back in his chair, remembering how he had felt when he had found out.

_He and James were walking the halls. Remus was helping Peter with some homework and Sirius and James, having finished theirs had decided to go for a walk, stretch their legs._

_They were just about to walk round the corner, when they spotted a bunch of Slytherins walking down the hall towards them. Grabbing James' arm, Sirius had pulled them behind a tapestry, planning to humiliate the Slytherins in some way._

_Getting his wand ready, he waited until the right moment, but as they passed, something they said made him stop._

"_Did it hurt, Reg?"_

"_Not really." Sirius recognised the deep voice of his brother, Regulus, anywhere._

"_Do your parents know?" another voice asked._

"_Of course," Regulus snorted. "Mum was thrilled."_

_There was another snort._

"_Of course she was proud," a voice Sirius vaguely recognised said. "She got rid of a blood traitor and gained a death eater!"_

_The Slytherins laughed and passed the tapestry where Sirius stood frozen, James beside him._

"_Pads," James murmured, once their voices had disappeared. "Are you okay?"_

_Sirius hadn't answered him, instead, he had ducked out from under the tapestry and walked away, the opposite direction to which the Slytherins had taken, he had heard James shout and attempt to follow him, but Sirius had been quicker and hidden behind a suit of armour just as James rounded the corner, he watched as James' feet had walked past his hiding place before sliding down the wall, tears pricking at his eyes._

_He had failed his baby brother._

As the memory faded, Sirius sighed deeply and ran a hand through his hair. How he wished he could change that, but now, well, it was too late. Sighing once more, Sirius rose from his desk and decided to visit the kitchen; he was in desperate need of some comfort food.

* * *

Willow Briar stood outside the door of her defence classroom, shifting from one foot to the other as she waited for Professor Century to let them in.

"Everything alright, Willow?" Lacretia Jordon, one of her friends asked.

Willow nodded.

"Just a bit impatient." She replied.

Lacretia nodded and turned to talk to one of the Ravenclaw girls that were stood there. From beside her, her friend Isabella touched her shoulder.

"Relax Willow," she whispered, "Everything will be alright."

Willow just nodded but didn't relax.

Full Moons always made her anxious.

Five minutes after standing there, the classroom door opened to reveal an exhausted looking Professor Century.

"Come in," he said, holding the door open for them.

The class trooped in automatically and took their seats.

"Professor," Lacretia said as she slipped into the seat in front of them. "Are you alright, you don't look very good."

Professor Century smiled grimly.

"Didn't sleep well," he replied before turning to the black board and writing down their lesson plan for the day.

Fifteen minutes into the lesson, Willow suddenly shivered, a wave of coldness creeping over her.

"You alright, Willow?" Isabella whispered from beside her.

Willow nodded.

"Just a bit cold." She replied.

Isabella frowned but didn't press.

By the time the lesson had finished, Willow was convinced she was coming down with something.

"You go ahead," she told Isabella as Professor Century dismissed them. "I'll catch up."

Isabella hesitated, chewing on her bottom lip, but did as Willow suggested.

"Save you a seat in charms?" she asked.

Willow nodded and waited to Isabella was out of the classroom before rising.

The moment she rose, she knew it was a bad idea; a wave of dizziness hit her causing Willow to close her eyes and take deep breaths.

"Everything alright, Miss Briar?"

Willow opened her eyes to see Professor Century stood before her, a concerned look on his face.

She nodded, forcing a smile.

"Stood up too fast," she whispered.

Professor Century didn't look convinced.

"You sure?" he asked, "You don't look very good." He reached out and touched her forehead; his hand was as cold as ice. "I think you best go to the hospital wing," he murmured. "You're burning up."

"I'll be fine." Willow replied, shifting her bag up her shoulder. "Totally fi-" she gasped, sucking in a lungful of air as another wave of dizziness hit her, causing her knees to buckle.

"Hospital Wing for you, Miss Briar." Professor Century said firmly.

Willow sighed, resigned to her fate.

"Fine," she said. "Hospital wing it is."

She took a step forwards and regretted it. The wave of dizziness was forceful this time, her world faded black and she was aware of falling and of someone calling her name, and then, it went black.

* * *

Sirius sat on the edge of the Hospital Wing bed and grinned at his friend who was propped up by some pillows.

"We had an amazing time, last night, Moony." He told Remus. "Peter won hide and seek, again, but this time he hid on Prongs antlers, it took Prongs ages to find him."

From the bed, Remus cracked a grin while on the other side of him, James snorted.

"I still say he cheated." He muttered, beside him Peter just shrugged, seemingly unbothered by James' accusation.

Sirius laughed at his friends' annoyance and was just about to say something else when the Hospital Wing doors burst open, causing them to turn to find Professor Century entering the hospital wing carrying something in his arms, on closer inspection they realised in was a student, a female Gryffindor student to be precise.

"Madam Pomfrey!" he cried, his voice sounding panicky.

The door to Madam Pomfrey's office opened and they heard her gasp as she saw Professor Century.

"Over here," she said, hurrying towards the bed opposite Remus.

Professor Century followed and placed the student on the bed.

As they looked at her they realised that she was shaking, her whole body trembling and sweat seemed to be coating her body.

They watched as Madam Pomfrey pulled her jumper off her and stuck a thermometer under her arm before gasping as she read the temperature.

"Stay with her," she told Professor Century. "I need to grab some potions."

Professor Century nodded and Madam Pomfrey hurried out of the hospital wing. They watched as Professor Century sank into a chair beside the bed, his face as white as a sheet.

"Professor?" James called out.

Professor Century's head turned to face them.

"What happened?" James asked, rising from his seat.

Sirius too slipped off the bed and the two began to walk over to where Professor Century was sat.

"She fainted," Professor Century replied, his voice hollow. "She was burning up."

There was a sound of running footsteps and Madam Pomfrey returned carrying several potion bottles in her arms.

"Stand back, boys." She said, approaching the bed.

Sirius and James did as she said and watched as Madam Pomfrey uncorked one of the bottles, tipped back the young woman's head, opened her mouth and poured the potion down her throat.

"That should take her temperature down for a few hours," she told Professor Century. "There's not much more I can do until she wakes up, sleeps probably the best thing for her."

Professor Century nodded.

"I'll come check on her later." He said.

Madam Pomfrey nodded and Professor Century rose from his chair.

"Boys," he said nodding to both Sirius and James before turning and heading out of the Hospital Wing doors.

James and Sirius watched him go before glancing at the girl, she was still unconscious, and then turned back to Remus and Peter, who were also looking at the girl.

"Well," James said, ambling over. "We'd better get going, class to get too." He shouldered his satchel. "See you later, Remus."

Remus nodded and both Sirius and Peter grabbed their bags, bade good bye to Remus and left the Hospital Wing to head towards their next class of the day, Potions.

**A/N: Well, another chapter over with. I like to think that Sirius had a close relationship with his brother and tried to maintain contact even after Regulus was sorted into Slytherin, after all, we all know that Regulus eventually deflected from Voldemort.**

**Let me know what you think.**

**Until next time,**

**Wacky Wizard **


	7. Silver Birch

**Disclaimer: You should know by now.**

**Summary: **When Sirius fell through the veil, he didn't die, but was instead sent back in time, to be more precise, his last year of Hogwarts. Now the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor he finds himself disliking his younger self but drawn to a sixth year student by the name of Willow Briar. But nothing can happen between a student and a teacher, right? SBXOC

Chapter Six – Silver Birch

Light. Bright light.

Willow groaned as she opened her eyes.

A white ceiling stared back at her.

Frowning in confusion, Willow struggled to sit up.

"I see you're awake."

Willow blinked before turning to see a guy with light brown hair sat in the bed opposite her, she vaguely recognised him from somewhere.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, his amber eyes looking at her in concern.

Willow shifted before replying.

"Better," she replied. "How did I get here?"

"Professor Century bought you in," the guy replied. "He's been in to check on you, just before lunch."

Willow stared in surprise.

"How long have I been out?" she asked.

The guy smiled.

"About four hours." He replied.

Willow gaped.

"Four hours," she croaked. "Four hours?"

The guy chuckled.

"Don't worry about it, Madam Pomfrey said that it was natural, apparently you had a bad case of influenza."

Willow groaned before leaning back into her pillows.

"I'm Willow Briar, by the way."

The guy smiled, his eyes crinkling in the corners.

"Remus Lupin," he replied.

Willow returned the smile before eyeing him. He had several bandages covering his arms and faint scars that ran across the length of his face.

"Been in a few fights, have you?" she asked, lightly.

Remus nodded, looking slightly uncomfortable.

Willow nodded knowingly.

"My dad gets in a few fights," she commented, staring at the ceiling. "Werewolves tend to do that."

She heard Remus gasp and turned to look at him, his face had drained of colour.

"I don't know what you mean." He whispered.

Willow raised an eyebrow.

"You're a werewolf," she stated. "And don't deny it," she added as he tried to do just that, "When you've been with a werewolf since you were one, you tend to recognise other werewolves."

Remus stared at her.

"You don't mind?" he asked.

Willow shook her head grinning.

"I've just said my Dad's a werewolf, didn't I?"

Remus looked at her and Willow was surprised to see tears in his eyes.

"Hey," she said. "I'm not going to tell anyone."

Remus shook his head.

"I know," he said, his voice wobbling slightly. "I just… I… thank you."

Willow grinned, relieved.

"Don't worry about it." She replied.

Remus opened his mouth again when the hospital wing doors opened and three people entered, talking loudly.

"I still think Professor Century's got it in for me," the tall, dark haired one was saying, "Just because he's been nicer this lesson doesn't mean he's going to continue doing so."

The messy haired, bespectacled boy merely shrugged.

"I don't know," he said. "Professor Century seems nice enough, and let's not forget," he added, "that you were the one to prank him in the first place."

The dark haired boy rolled his eyes before turning to the small, mousy haired, watery eyed boy on the other side of him.

"What about you, Wormy?" he asked, looking at his friend. "Do you think Professor Century's got it out for me?"

Willow had the feeling that, as she watched the small, mousy haired boy chew his lip, 'Wormy' as he had so been dubbed, wanted to agree with the dark haired boy, but at the same time didn't want to disrespect a teacher he seemed to like.

The boy in question settled on a shrug.

"Don't know," he replied. "Wasn't really paying that much attention, to be honest."

From across her, Remus groaned.

"I guess all hopes of having notes for that lesson have gone out of the window then?" he said, but Willow noticed a small smile on his face as he looked at his three friends.

The messy haired boy rolled his eyes at Remus' comment before pulling a role of parchment out of his bag and handing it to Remus.

"Happy now?" he asked, dumping his bag and flopping into a seat.

"Ecstatic." Remus replied with a grin causing the dark haired boy to let out a bark of laughter before he too flopped into a chair.

"I got you something, Remus," he said.

Willow watched as he dipped into his bag and pulled out a bag of chocolate frogs. Remus' face lit up and he eagerly snatched the bag from his friends' hand causing his friends to laugh.

"Still love you're chocolate, eh?" the messy haired boy asked as Remus dug into the bag.

Remus ignored him and looked over at Willow.

"Want one?" he asked.

Willow was about to reply when her stomach let out a loud growl causing Remus to laugh.

"I'll take that as a yes." He said.

Willow just nodded.

Grabbing one of the chocolate frogs, Remus launched it into the air, Willow watched as it soared into the air before reaching her hand out and catching it with ease.

"Thanks." She called before unwrapping the frog and taking a chunk out of its head.

"Made a new friend, have we Moony?"

Willow glanced up to see the dark haired boy looking at her, an amused smile on his face.

Swallowing the chocolate frog, Willow smiled back just as Madam Pomfrey came out of her office and spotted her.

"I see you're awake," she bustled over to her and began feeling her head before taking her temperature.

She seemed satisfied with what she felt for she released Willow immediately.

"But take it slow." She warned.

Willow promised she would before bidding good bye to Remus and heading out of the hospital wing and towards Gryffindor Tower.

The minute she entered the common room she heard a screech and then arms were around her, hugging her.

"What happened? Are you alright?"

Willow smiled at Isabella's questions.

"Mild case of the flu," she told her off handily.

Isabella raised her eyebrow.

"Professor Century told me you passed out." She said.

Willow shrugged.

"I did," she said. "But Madam Pomfrey fixed me up."

Isabella eyed her before shrugging.

"Well you've got a lot of homework to catch up on." She said.

Willow groaned but followed her friend over to the sofa.

* * *

Sirius walked with his friends towards the Great Hall, it had taken a lot of convincing, but Madam Pomfrey had given into their pleas and allowed them to take Remus to dinner with them, effectively releasing him from the hospital wing.

They were just passing through the Great Hall doors when someone bumped into Sirius.

"Sorry," they apologised before carrying on.

Sirius shook his head before noticing that they had dropped something, bending down he scooped up the small bag, it jangled obviously containing something.

"Hey!" he called. "You dropped something."

The person turned and Sirius walked towards her, holding out the bag of money.

"Thanks," she smiled at him and Sirius immediately recognised her from the hospital wing.

"Hey, you're Remus friend right, the girl from the hospital wing." He added at her confused look.

"Yeah," she said, her smile widening.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Silver," another voice replied, he looked over to see another girl stood there. "Silver Birch."

Sirius' brow furrowed in confusion.

"But isn't that the name of a - "

"Tree," the girl offered.

Sirius nodded and the girl shrugged.

"My parents are obsessed with plants," she said. "But thanks for the purse."

Sirius nodded and watched as she walked off with her friend laughing.

"Everything alright, Pads?"

Sirius turned to see that James, Remus and Peter had caught up with him. He nodded.

"Come on, I'm starving." And with that he strolled towards the Gryffindor table, his friends following.

After eating they headed back to Gryffindor tower, the conversation turning to Quidditch.

"We're going to beat Slytherin," Sirius said.

"Only if we find a new seeker," James corrected.

"I hear Gwen Jones is interested." Remus commented as they entered the common room.

Both James and Sirius looked at him.

"Who?" they asked.

Remus stared at them incredulously.

"Gwen Jones, she's a fifth year?"

Both James and Sirius continued to look blank.

"She's a prefect, James." Remus added.

James raised an eyebrow causing Remus to shake his head in dismay as he sank into one of the sofas by the fire.

"Do you know any of the girls' names in our house?" he asked.

James nodded.

"Lily Evans." He said.

Remus rolled his eyes.

"Apart from Lily." He said.

James sulked.

"At least I know one more than he does!" he exclaimed, pointing at Sirius who scowled at him.

"Not true," Sirius said. "I know her name," he pointed to Silver who had just walked in.

"What is it then?" Remus asked, intrigued.

"Silver," said Sirius proudly. "Silver Birch."

James burst out laughing and even Remus snorted in laughter at this statement.

"What?" asked Sirius, annoyed.

"Her name's Willow," Remus informed him. "Willow Briar."

Sirius frowned.

"But she said her name was Silver Birch." He said.

Remus just shook his head, too busy laughing.

Sirius scowled at him before glancing over to where 'Silver' was sat with her friend. Excusing himself from his friends company he walked over, deciding it was time for a chat with her.

* * *

Willow sat on the window ledge, a book resting against her knees. She was halfway down the page when a voice interrupted her.

"Why did you say your name was Silver?"

She glanced up to see the tall, dark haired guy from the Hospital Wing stood there, and felt a smile cross her face.

"I didn't." she said.

"Yes, you did." He insisted, folding his arms.

Willow's smile widened.

"I didn't, Isabella did." She inclined her head to where the olive skinned girl from before was sat talking to a dark skinned girl.

Sirius looked back at her, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Why?" he asked.

Willow shrugged.

"It's just something she says any time a guy asks my name."

Sirius eyed her suspiciously.

"So what is your actual name then?" he asked eventually.

Willow smiled.

"Willow Briar," she said holding out hand.

Sirius looked at it before taking it.

"Sirius Black." He replied.

**A/N: Okay, so Willow and Sirius have become acquainted with one another, after, really, a random chapter. I think it's just one of those things I fling together when I don't really know what to write about.**

**Oh well.**

**Hope you enjoyed it.**

**Remember, reviews are my life…**

**Until next time,**

**Wacky Wizard **


	8. First match

**Disclaimer: You should know by now.**

**Summary: **When Sirius fell through the veil, he didn't die, but was instead sent back in time, to be more precise, his last year of Hogwarts. Now the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor he finds himself disliking his younger self but drawn to a sixth year student by the name of Willow Briar. But nothing can happen between a student and a teacher, right? SBXOC

**Thanks to the following for their reviews:**

**matt-hardy-lover-101**

**fan of fanfiction**

**ForgottenMaruader**

**BlackCat718**

**N.W Potter lover**

**geegee20**

**and now... on with the chapter!**

Chapter Seven – First Match

A month had now passed since Sirius had been appointed DADA Professor and he was slowly getting used to the position, his younger self, although not behaving perfectly – not that Sirius expected him too – wasn't interrupting his classes as much as possible, however, there was still that tension between the two as if unsure which one was going to pounce first.

He had just finished his last class of a Friday and was clearing his desk when there was a light tap on the door.

He turned and smiled as he saw Willow Briar stood there.

After a month of teaching, he had gotten to know his students on a personal level and found himself rather drawn to Willow.

"Miss Briar," he said pleasantly. "What can I do you for?"

Willow smiled and walked in, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. She had it down today and Sirius was rather mesmerised by it.

Falling in loose curls down her back, the creamy chocolate colour of it accentuated her pale features and complimented the dark blue colour of her eyes. She was an absolute stunner and Sirius had been surprised to learn that she didn't have a boyfriend. She was a beauty inside and out.

"First Quidditch match of the season tomorrow," she commented. "I just wondered if you were going to watch it."

Sirius smiled, a slow, lazy smile.

"Of course, Miss Briar," he said. "I'm a Quidditch fanatic, remember."

A smile spread across Willow's face, making her eyes crinkle in the corner.

"Excellent," she replied. "It's a Gryffindor/Slytherin match, so it promises to be exciting, will you be taking sides, Professor?"

Sirius shrugged, knowing he would be supporting Gryffindor.

"I shouldn't," he said. "But don't be surprised if you find me in the Gryffindor end."

Willow laughed, a deep, pleasant sound.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Professor," she said and with a small wave, she turned and was gone.

Sirius watched her go and couldn't help but smile.

Willow Briar was really something.

* * *

Saturday the 8th of October came as did the Quidditch match. The Gryffindor team arrived to a roar of approval in the Great Hall from the Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables, Gryffindor cheering the loudest.

The captain, James Potter, grinned and waved in acknowledgement before sitting his team together, his friends Sirius, Remus and Peter joining them. After eating breakfast they exited the Great Hall and headed down to the Quidditch pitch for a team talk. The rest of the hall soon followed afterwards.

"It's going to be an exciting match," Isabella Milano commented as they headed towards the pitch.

"First commentation of the season," Lacretia Jordon added, rubbing her gloved hands together, for it was rather nippy. "Let's hope Gryffindor pull it out of the bag."

Both Willow and Isabella nodded in agreement before bidding good bye to Lacretia as she headed towards the commentator box which was located in the teachers' box.

"Come on," Isabella said, "We need to find good seats," she grabbed Willow's arm and the two of them headed into the Gryffindor stand, searching for good seats.

Finally, when they had reached the top bench, Isabella claimed they had good seats.

They had just settled when Lacretia's voice boomed through the stand.

"Welcome ladies and gents to the first Quidditch match of the season!" she cried. "And we welcome the teams, on the Slytherin side we have, Pucey, Mulciber, Montague, Greengrass, Parkinson, Black and Flint!"

The roar of support from the Slytherin house was drowned out by the boos and hisses that came from the rest of the houses.

"And on the Gryffindor team; McKinnon, Johnson, Thomas, Po, Davids, Jones and Potter!"

The roar that met the Gryffindor was outstanding. The team flew once round the pitch to great applause before meeting in the middle to shake hands.

"And… they're off!" Lacretia screamed. "It's McKinnon in position of the quaffle, she ducks a bludger and passes the quaffle to Johnson who drops it and it's caught by Potter, he weaves past Pucey, ducks a bludger and… HE SCORES!"

Willow found herself screaming in joy as James soared round the pitch, a few rows in front of her she noticed Lily Evans jumping up and down in excitement.

"… and Montague has the quaffle, he swerves round Johnson… nice hit by Po there, Montague drops the quaffle and its caught by Potter, he zooms up the pitch towards the goal, back-passes to McKinnon who flies over him… SHE SCORES! GRYFFINDOR 20-0!"

The Gryffindor stand was filled with noise as the crowd roared their approval.

"McKinnon in possession of the quaffle, she dodges Mulciber…. FOUL!"

The Gryffindor side hissed as Madam Hooch flew up to tell off Marco Parkinson who had smacked Marlene McKinnon round the back of the head with his club, she noticed James fly up to check on his chaser, before the game to continue, Gryffindor given a free shot which James took…

"THIRTY- NIL!" Lacretia screamed as the game continued, the Gryffindor side cheering hard.

The game continued like this for some time. Slytherins scored two goals and Gryffindor retaliated by scoring three more.

"And Black's seen the snitch!" Lacretia pointed out. "Jones has seen it too, she's still got to gain on Black, but, she's, she's pulled out… what is she…" the whole stand was staring, Gwen Jones has indeed pulled out…

"And she's fallen off her broom!"

There were screams of horror from the crowd and Willow could only gape as Gwen Jones fell through the air.

"I can't watch," Lacretia called out to the crowd, "this is… but… what's this… I don't believe it… she's got the snitch!"

Willow stared in disbelief, it was true. Gwen Jones had dived through the air and snatched the snitch out of the reach of Regulus Black. She watched as James shot forwards, grabbing Gwen around the waist and pulling her onto his broom.

"Well!" Lacretia cried as the Gryffindor's roared in triumph. "That has to be the most unconventional way of catching the snitch I've ever seen!"

"Party in the common room!" she heard someone cry and before she knew it, she and Isabella had been swept away in the crowd on the way back to Gryffindor common room.

* * *

James grinned as he entered the common room to a loud cheer.

"Well done, James!" someone shouted, clapping him on the back.

"Excellent game, Potter!"

"James!"

James turned to see Lily Evans battling her way through the crowd towards him, she eventually reached him, and James was pleased to see that she was smiling.

"Well done, James," she said, tucking a strand of her dark, red hair behind her ear. "It was a good match."

James grinned down at her.

"Thanks, Lily." He said.

She smiled shyly at him before turning her attention to her friend Marlene who had followed James through the Portrait hole.

James let her go, feeling on top of the world.

"Oh, something happened to Prongsie!" Sirius teased as James made his way through the crowd towards them. "Evans finally snog you did she?"

James shook his head, still grinning.

"She complimented me," he said before taking a swig of the butter beer that Sirius offered him.

Sirius and Remus exchanged a glance.

"Congrats," Sirius said, clapping a hand on his friends shoulder. "Told you being yourself would work."

"Excuse me," Remus said, raising an eyebrow at Sirius, "But I believe it was me who told him that."

Sirius dismissed it with a wave of his hand and instead turned his attention to Gwen Jones who had battled her way through the crowd.

"Nice stunt, Jones," he said.

Gwen grinned at him before taking a butter beer from the side.

"Good game, James," she said.

James nodded.

"You too, Gwen," he replied. "Risky move."

Gwen shrugged.

"I grew up with three older brothers," she informed him. "Risky moves aren't in their vocabulary." With that she turned and descended back into the crowd.

"Great game."

James turned to see Willow Briar stood their grinning, he grinned back.

"Thanks, Willow." He replied.

She grinned at him before shifting her attention to Sirius.

"Chuck us a butter beer, Sirius." She said.

Sirius did as she asked, she caught it with ease before resting it against the side of the table and banging on the top which slid off with a hiss.

"Thanks," she replied before taking a sip and turning to find her friends.

James watched her go before turning back to both Sirius and Remus who were watching her in amazement.

"How did she do that?" Sirius muttered.

James shrugged and took a lengthy sip of his own drink.

"Must be her party trick." He replied.

Sirius nodded but continued to stare after her retreating back.

"Hey James."

James turned at the sound of the familiar voice to see Lily Evans slide into the seat beside him.

"Hey Lily," he replied, grinning at her.

Lily smiled back before turning to Sirius.

"Could you pass me a butterbeer, please, Sirius."

Sirius nodded, an arrogant grin on his handsome face and held a bottle out to her, Lily took it with a smile before turning sheepishly to James.

"Could you open it for me?" she asked. "I've always found them rather tricky."

James nearly spluttered on his drink but nodded eagerly, taking her bottle and pulling the tab of for her.

"Thanks," she said with a wide smile before taking a sip.

"Well," Remus said, rising from his seat. "We'd best go find Peter, eh, Sirius?"

Sirius nodded in agreement and sent a wink at James.

"See you later, mate."

With that he and Remus dispersed into the crowd leaving James and Lily alone on the sofa to talk.

* * *

"Enjoy the game?"

Willow turned and grinned as she saw Professor Century smiling down at her.

"Professor," she said pleasantly. "How did you get in here?"

Professor Century grinned.

"I got swept up in the crowds," he said. "Next time, I'll leave the Quidditch stand last."

Willow laughed at this.

"Possibly a good idea, Professor." She said. "We Gryffindors tend to get slightly carried away if we win."

Professor Century laughed, a deep, rumbling laugh that sent rather pleasant chills up Willow's spine.

"I can see that," he said, still grinning.

Willow beamed back and the two began to converse pleasantly, neither of them knowing that someone was watching them, and that, that particular someone was feeling a rather peculiar feeling of jealousy and rage as he watched them talk and laugh together.

**A/N: Okay, slightly shorter chapter than the rest of them, but hope you like it all the same.**

**A bit of a love interaction between James and Lily as well as Sirius and Willow in this chapter. Obviously my story is not focused on the love between the two of them (a story I must pursue) but I thought I put in a short, romantic/friendship section in, of course, they will end up together, or Harry would cease to exist, but the story will not orientate on how they end up together, at least not in great detail, anyway.**

**Hope you liked the chapter and the Quidditch commentation.**

**Leave a review to let me know what you think…**

**Many thanks, and until next time,**

**Wacky Wizard **

**p.s Willow's party trick is from the film Overboard starring Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell.**


	9. A conversation in the library

**Disclaimer: You should know by now.**

**Summary: **When Sirius fell through the veil, he didn't die, but was instead sent back in time, to be more precise, his last year of Hogwarts. Now the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor he finds himself disliking his younger self but drawn to a sixth year student by the name of Willow Briar. But nothing can happen between a student and a teacher, right? SBXOC

**A/N: I would just like to take this oppurtunity to thank everyone for their review, for adding me to favourite stories, favourite author, story alert or just for even reading this story, it means a lot to me. Thank you! :) **

Chapter Eight – A conversation in the Library

It took two whole days for Gryffindor to calm down over their win to Slytherin. Of course the match was still talked about for a week after it due to Gwen Jones' dangerous stunt.

It was a Thursday and Sirius found himself, once again, with the seventh years. Now it just happened that many of the Quidditch players on both the Gryffindor and Slytherin teams were seventh years which probably explained the fighting that started.

Sirius was a few minutes late for his class having been cornered by a couple of second year students who wanted some help on their homework, and so wasn't there to see the fighting commence. What he did see, however, was his younger self magically throw one of the seventh year Slytherins against the wall opposite him.

"Mr Black!" he shouted. "What the hell is going on?"

His younger self turned to face him; he had several cuts covering him.

"_He,"_ he pointed an accusing finger at the groaning Slytherin, "attacked James."

Sirius blinked before glancing at James who was being helped to his feet by Remus and Peter, cuts and bruises littered his body.

Sirius turned to face the Slytherin.

"Is that true?" he asked, deadly quite.

The Slytherin merely scowled causing Sirius to purse his lips.

"Fifty points from Slytherin," he snapped. "And detention with me for the rest of the week. I'll be speaking with Professor Slughorn about this, Pucey. Everybody in," he snapped, opening the door with a wave of his hand. "Except Mr Potter and Mr Black."

The class hurriedly filed in leaving Sirius, James and his younger self outside. James looked particularly weak and had lost his glasses; Sirius bent down and handed them to him.

"Mr Potter," he said, "How do you feel?"

"To be honest Professor," James replied, his voice groggy. "Like shit."

Sirius nodded.

"You look like it, Mr Potter, perhaps you best-" he was interrupted by a dashing of feet.

"Sorry I'm late, Profess - oh my god James!"

Sirius turned to see Lily Evans staring, open mouthed at James.

"What happened?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"A bunch of Slytherin jerks attacked him, that's what." His younger self snapped, irritably, rubbing his arm.

Lily gasped in horror.

"Oh, James," she whispered. "Shall I take him to the Hospital Wing, Professor?" she turned to face Sirius, who blinked in surprise, before nodding.

"Yes, that would be a good idea, Miss Evans," Sirius replied.

Lily nodded and delicately placed a hand on James' arm.

"Do you need any help?" she asked.

James shook his head before walking beside Lily, heading towards the hospital wing. Sirius watched them go before turning to his younger self, who was scowling darkly.

"Mr Black," he said, causing his younger self to turn to him. "While I do not approve of violence, I understand that you were protecting your friend, therefore you shan't receive detention, however, I will deduct ten points from Gryffindor for the use of violence, is that understood?"

His younger self nodded and Sirius offered his arm towards the door.

"After you, Mr Black."

* * *

Willow walked down the seventh floor corridor heading towards the library, her friends Isabella, Lacretia and Mary walked beside her.

"Well that was fun," Isabella commented, referring to the potions lesson they had just come from.

All three of them nodded sourly in agreement.

They were supposed to making the draught of living death, but somehow, the cauldron in front, belonging to a one Marcus Greengrass, had exploded, half of his potion landing on the four Gryffindor girls behind him.

Thankfully, the potion hadn't been toxic, but, even after two showers; the girls still had the stench of the potion on them.

"Well," Lacretia said as she swung her bag onto the table. "There's no use crying over spilt milk now." She pulled several rolls of parchment and books out of her bag. "Might as well get on with some work."

The other girls followed suit.

Ten minutes of quill scratching and page turning, Mary spoke.

"Isn't that Professor Century?" she asked.

Willow and the others followed her gaze.

"Yeah, it is," Isabella replied. "So what?"

"He looks a bit annoyed," Mary answered. "I wonder what's up."

Isabella shrugged and turned back to her work while Mary, Lacretia and Willow watched him.

They watched as he riffled through some books in the defence area, pulling out a couple and slumping behind a desk near the book shelves.

"I'm going to find out," Willow said, rising from her seat and shouldering her bag.

The others looked at her and Mary looked like she wanted to say something, but Willow walked away before she had the chance.

"Hey Professor,"

Professor Century's head snapped up, his face was filled with annoyance but it relaxed when he saw her.

"Miss Briar," he said politely.

"Mind if I sit here?" she asked, gesturing to the spare seat beside him.

"Be my guest," he said, pulling the seat out for her.

Willow smiled at him and sank into the seat, dropping her bag onto the desk and pulling out her homework.

"Everything alright, Professor?" she asked as she watched him flick through a couple of books.

He nodded, scanning the pages before him.

Willow watched him for several moments, admiring how his eyebrows knitted together as he concentrated, before she flipped open her own book.

For several moments neither of them spoke and then Professor Century slammed the book shut, letting out a soft curse.

"Anything I can help with, Professor?" she asked.

Professor Century shook his head.

"Not unless you know how to throttle people without witnesses." He muttered.

Willow studied him for several seconds before answering.

"Let me guess, a fight between some Gryffindor and Slytherin students, who just happen to be on the Quidditch team?"

Professor Century glanced at her, frowning.

"How did you know?" he asked.

Willow gave him a slight smile.

"Witnessed one in the corridor," she said. "Montague and that idiot Flint attacked Gwen Jones, the Gryffindor seeker. Unfortuanly for them, they bit off more than they could chew. Gwen Jones has an amazing bat-bogey hex." She added at Professor Century's confused look.

A grin spread across his face and he let out a deep chuckle.

Willow smiled at that before twisting in her chair so that she was facing him fully.

"So, who was it?" she asked.

"Grahame Pucey attacked James Potter," Professor Century told her. "I suspect he had help from Parkinson and Mulciber, but I only saw Sirius Black attacking him."

Willow let out a low whistle.

"And how is James?" she asked.

"Fine," Professor Century replied. "According to Lily Evans, Madam Pomfrey fixed him in a jiffy."

"Yeah, I heard those two were quite cosy," Willow commented. "It's about time, James' been going after her since third year, poor guy." She added, shaking her head. "And was Sirius okay?"

Professor Century nodded, again.

"Minor cuts and bruises," he said. "He was more likely to hurt himself out of anger than anything."

Willow shrugged.

"He's like that," she said. "Fiercely protective of his friends. I reckon he'd put his life on the line for any of them."

She turned to find Professor Century staring at her in surprise.

"Have I got something on my face?" she asked, her hand unconsciously coming up.

Professor Century shook his head.

"No," he whispered, his voice hoarse. "How do you know so much about Sirius?"

Willow smiled at this.

"I have eyes, Professor," she said. "And even if I didn't want to know so much about Sirius, which I don't, he's kind of hard to miss, if you know what I mean."

Professor Century nodded before clearing his throat.

"Well, Miss Briar," he said. "While our chat has been pleasant, I really must get going, I have a class to teach in ten minutes."

Willow nodded in understanding.

"Of course, Professor," she said, also rising. "And I have friends to get back to." She inclined her head to where three girls were looking at them, they quickly ducked their heads when they realised they were looking there way.

Willow smiled in amusement before turning back to Professor Century.

"See you later, Professor." She said.

Professor Century nodded in reply.

"Good bye, Miss Briar." He said softly, before gathering his books, replacing them and heading out of the library, his robes billowing out behind him.

Willow watched him go before shouldering her bag once again and heading back towards her friends who were now looking at her expectantly.

* * *

Sirius walked along the corridor, in shock.

Willow Briar knew about him.

It shouldn't really have come as a shock to him, after all, they were in the same house and probably did see a lot of each other, but Sirius couldn't for the life of him remember her from when he was young, and yet, for some reason, he wished he did.

Willow was a bright, young girl with talent. He had watched her in many of his defence lessons and found that she was rather skilled with a wand, her non-verbal communication of spells was above any he had ever seen, and he believed, that it battle, she would be equal to many of her opponents.

Not only was she practically smart, she was theory smart too. She knew answers to questions and her written essays were well written, and, on occasion, witty.

She had a strong sense of direction and knew the difference between right and wrong. He didn't believe her to be some sort of prude – a strict rule follower, or a teacher's pet – as he knew she was up for a laugh. In fact, several times, he had caught her and her friend, Isabella, pulling small minor pranks on each other ranging from changing the colour of their hair to growing facial hair.

She took things in her stride and never once complained about unfairness. She treated the Slytherins with a sort of respect, as long as they didn't bother her, she wouldn't bother them. The Slytherins seemed to accept this and no nasty words were exchanged between the pair, she had even gone so far as to work with the Slytherins if need be.

Sirius found her a rather brave, intelligent and strong-willed young woman who was not afraid to stand up for what she believed in, but listened to the opinions of others, he had found this out when the class had got into a debate about wizards being sent to Azkaban. Many wizards and witches believed that if you did something wrong, you deserved to pay for your crime, and while Willow respected their opinions, she also pointed out that although she agreed with wizards and witches going to Azkaban for doing wrong, she believed that they should each be released for not all crimes were the same.

As she put it, which was worse, stealing something from someone else, or killing someone with the killing curse?

She was also very attractive which Sirius believed helped matters. She was taller than average with thick, creamy chocolate hair that had a slight curl to it. Her skin had an ivory complexion to it and she had a light splattering of freckles across her face, her dark blue eyes were framed with thick, dark lashes and her lips plump and more often than not twisted into a smile or grin.

He knew that he shouldn't look at students as attractive or even seek their company in the way he did Willow, but he couldn't help himself. To him she was like a book was to Remus, a fascinating creature just ready to be explored, and once you started, you couldn't stop.

And Sirius couldn't stop, not until he knew her inside and out.

**A/N: And a nice conversation between Sirius and Willow with a slight Lily/James action at the beginning. I like to think that Lily wasn't always on time to every class; I mean sometimes you get delayed by things you don't expect.**

**I know I did like a big description of Willow at the end, but I sort of wanted to explain the character the way Sirius (older) sees her and also get a bit of Sirius/Willow action in there.**

**Anyways, hope you liked it.**

**Button at the bottom if you want to review…**

**Until next time,**

**Wacky Wizard **


	10. Hogsmeade

**Disclaimer: You should know by now.**

**Summary: **When Sirius fell through the veil, he didn't die, but was instead sent back in time, to be more precise, his last year of Hogwarts. Now the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor he finds himself disliking his younger self but drawn to a sixth year student by the name of Willow Briar. But nothing can happen between a student and a teacher, right? SBXOC

Chapter Nine – Hogsmeade

Friday arrived bright and early with the promise of Hogsmeade the next day. Sirius found himself hearing the chatter of Hogsmeade wherever he went. The third years he could accept to be rather excitable, after all, this was only their second one of the term, however, the older years he expected to be less excited.

Of course, he had forgotten about himself.

Sirius had always been a rather excitable child when he was younger. It had probably come about due to moving out of a house that was based solely on pure blooded relations and the dark arts and moving into Hogwarts, something that spoke of mixtures of blood, different types of magic, and, in Remus' case, different breeds of people.

The thing about Sirius was that he got more excited as the day went on, and unfortuanally for Sirius, he had his younger self for the last lesson of the day.

Cue the chaos that was sure to reign.

The class started of relatively okay; Sirius arrived late for class as well as the rest of the Marauders – something that usually happened. He sat through the explanation of what was happening with minor incident i.e. tipping his chair back to rest on two legs, throwing a paper plane at Snape etc. It was when they got to the practical that the problems started.

They were supposed to be duelling, house against house. Now, Sirius knew this had been a bad idea the minute he had asked them to split into four groups, of course they would split into their houses, fortuanally there were enough people in each house for them to do this, so, Sirius let it slide.

Anyway, it was Ravenclaw vs. Slytherin and Sirius was watching the match intently. However, there was a slight problem in that every time Snape made to utter a spell, something happened to him, his hair would change colour, his shoe would become untied and so on.

It wasn't until bubbles began streaming out of Snape's mouth that Sirius decided that something needed to be done.

Walking over to where his younger self was leaning against the wall, grinning, he spoke quietly to him.

"If you continue, Mr Black," he said quietly so that only his younger self could hear him. "Then I will have no choice but ban you from attending Hogsmeade, again."

His younger self looked sharply at him, his mouth falling open in shock.

Sirius merely raised an eyebrow in reply.

"It's your choice." He told him before walking back over to watch the battle commence.

Eventually, the battle finished, Slytherin winning. With a promise to continue with the lesson on Monday, Sirius dismissed the class. His younger self approached him, the only person still left.

"Professor," he said, sounding quite hesitant.

"Yes, Mr Black?" Sirius asked, looking at him over his desk.

His younger self twisted his hands before replying.

"Sorry, sir." He said. "For, you know."

Sirius nodded.

"It's alright, Mr Black," he said. "Just control yourself."

His younger self nodded before turning and walking out of the classroom door leaving Sirius to ponder over what had just happened.

It was while he was thinking about what happened that someone knocked on his door.

"Come in," he called, not looking up.

"Alright, Professor?"

Sirius glanced up at the voice to see Willow stood before him, her hair pulled back into a messy bun and a grin on her face, causing her blue eyes to sparkle.

"Miss Briar," he said pleasantly. "What can I do for you?"

Willow just shrugged.

"Just wondered if you were going to Hogsmeade tomorrow?" she asked.

Sirius nodded.

"I most certainly am, wouldn't miss out on buying some Honeydukes chocolate for the world." He said with a smile.

Willow's grin widened.

"Well," she said, "I was wondering if you could help me with something, while in Hogsmeade. You see," she continued, twisting her hands. "It's my Dad's birthday on Monday and I haven't got a clue what to get him, it doesn't help that he doesn't know what he wants." She added in an undertone, causing Sirius' smile to widen.

"I'd be delighted, Miss Briar," he said. "But won't your friends be going with you?"

Willow shook her head.

"Isabella's going with her boyfriend, Lacretia's going with some friends from Ravenclaw, and Mary's staying here, she's got some work to finish in the library." She informed him.

Sirius blinked before replying.

"Alright then," he replied. "I'll meet you in the three broomsticks just after half-ten." He said.

Willow beamed at him.

"Thanks, Professor." She said. "See you later." With that she walked out of his classroom leaving him to wonder what on earth he had just agreed too.

Saturday arrived and Sirius showered and shaved before dressing himself casually in a pair of jeans and a button down blue and white shirt, he remembered Lily once complimenting him by saying that blue really bought out the colour of his eyes. Giving himself a final look over in the mirror, and approving, he pocketed his wand and headed out towards the Great Hall for breakfast.

"Got a hot date, Professor?"

Sirius turned to see his younger self grinning at him, Remus and Peter following.

"No, Mr Black," he said. "Am meeting a friend, speaking of which, where's Mr Potter, I thought you two were attached at the hip?"

His younger self laughed at this comment.

"James has got a date with little old Evans." He said.

Sirius couldn't help but grin at this.

"About time from what I hear."

His younger self grinned.

"You've got that right, see you around, Professor." And with that the three of them headed into the Great Hall for breakfast.

After eating a rather delicious breakfast of bacon and scrambled egg among other things, Sirius headed down to Hogsmeade, taking a brisk walk instead of one of the coaches. Upon entering the small village that was Hogsmeade, Sirius decided to pay a visit to Zonko's where he, once again, ran into his younger self and friends.

"Professor!" His younger self said, sounding astounded that he was even there. "I didn't realise you were into practical jokes."

Sirius just grinned.

"There are a lot of things you don't realise about me, Mr Black." He said. "Good day," with that he dodged past them, admiring some of the things that Zonko's had before ducking out of the store and heading to Honeydukes where he proceeded to buy a lovely bunch of fizzing whizzbees and peppermint creams before glancing at his watch, seeing that it was ten fifteen – giving him time for a quick butterbeer – and headed towards the Three Broomsticks.

"What can I get you, love?"

Sirius grinned as the familiar voice of Madam Rosmerta filled his ear.

"Just a butterbeer, thanks." He replied.

Madam Rosmerta complied and handed him a bottle of the liquid.

"That'll be a sickle." She said.

Sirius handed the money over and pulled the tab of the drink before taking a long sip from it.

"Hey Rosmerta!"

Sirius turned to see his younger self approach the bar, a grin on his face.

"Hello Sirius," Rosmerta said with a grin. "And where's James?"

"On a date." Sirius replied.

Rosmerta's smile widened.

"I take it Lily finally said yes?"

Sirius nodded.

"Poor girl," he said. "Doesn't know what she's in for."

Madam Rosmerta laughed and swotted at him with her cloth.

"Don't you talk about James like that, Sirius," she chided, still smiling. "He's a sweetie and Lily's fortunate to have him."

Sirius snorted.

"If you say so, Rosmerta." He said.

Rosmerta rolled her eyes at him, her smile still present.

"What can I get you, Sirius?" she asked.

"Firewhiskey?" Sirius asked, his voice sounding hopeful.

Madam Rosmerta laughed heartily.

"Nice try, love," she said. "But I don't think Albus would be too pleased to find his students drunk."

Sirius laughed.

"Do we ever get drunk?" he asked.

Rosmerta laughed and handed him three bottles of butterbeer which Sirius happily paid for.

"See you later, love," he said, leaning over and placing a kiss on her cheek before sending her a wink and heading back towards a table.

Rosmerta laughed and glanced at Sirius.

"He's a trouble maker that one." She said.

Sirius smirked.

"I know."

Madam Rosmerta spared him one more smile before returning to serving her customers.

Sirius took a last swig on his drink and jumped at the voice that came from behind him.

"Enjoying yourself, Professor?"

Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Sirius turned to see Willow stood behind him, a grin on her face.

Sirius was dumbfounded.

Willow looked amazing.

Her long brown hair had been pulled back into a French plait, a few loose strands framing her face. She was wearing a pair of light pink leggings with an oversized black jumper that had a large pink heart on it, a black bag hung from her shoulder and a pair of black, low heeled boots were on her feet.

"You ready?" she asked.

Sirius nodded before rising from his seat and following her out of the pub, as he walked he glanced over and caught his younger self eye. His younger self smiled before turning back to his friends and Sirius realised that the smile had not quite reached his younger self's eyes.

Pushing that thought to the back of his mind he continued to follow Willow up the high street, past Madam Puttifoots and the robe shop to a small shop with a thatched roof that had a selection of pottery in the window.

It was here that Willow stopped, pushing the door open, and electing a small tinkling sound from within the shop, she entered, Sirius not far behind her.

The shop was full to the brim with many things, paintings of landscapes that moved magically, ornaments, pottery and even some jewellery.

"Can I help you?" a wheezy voice asked.

Sirius whirled to see a small, rather hunched man with thick, short white hair on top of his head and a thick white moustache. His beady dark eyes were covered with a pair of thick rimmed glasses and he held a walking stick in one hand.

"Hi Ernie," Willow said cheerfully looking at the old man.

To the surprise of Sirius, the old man smiled revealing a rather toothy grin.

"Well, if it isn't Willow Briar," he said. "Haven't seen you in years, you look more beautiful each time I see you," his smile widening. "Just like your mother."

Willow smiled brightly at him.

"Thanks, Ernie," she said. "This is Professor Century," she added gesturing to Sirius who raised a hand in acknowledgement as Ernie turned his beady eyes on him.

"Welcome," he said, nodding his head before turning back to Willow, "What precisely can I do you for?"

"I need a birthday present for my Dad," Willow explained. "You know he loves this store."

Ernie chuckled.

"I remember," he said. "Him and your mother used to spend ages in here just looking through stuff in the forties and fifties; you're mother even bought you in here after you were born."

Willow nodded.

"I remember," she said, looking round the place with a wistful smile.

Many hours they spent in the shop looking for the perfect present for Willow's father, eventually they found it. It was an ornamental wolf that stared at them before walking up and down the small amount of grass it had been allocated, it's fur rippled as though an invisible wind had passed through.

"Elfin made," Ernie told them. "They'll be pleased to know it's gone into good hands."

Willow nodded and took the wrapped ornament that Ernie handed her.

"Thanks," she said. "For everything."

Ernie smiled.

"Don't worry about it, Willow." He said. "Tell your father I said hi."

Willow promised she would and she and Sirius exited the shop.

**A/N: Hope you liked this chapter. Not much to say on this as most of it will be explained in the next chapter.**

**You should know where the review button is by now ;) **

**Enjoy and thanks for reading.**

**Until next time,**

**Wacky Wizard **


	11. Willow's Past

**Disclaimer: You should know by now.**

**Summary: **When Sirius fell through the veil, he didn't die, but was instead sent back in time, to be more precise, his last year of Hogwarts. Now the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor he finds himself disliking his younger self but drawn to a sixth year student by the name of Willow Briar. But nothing can happen between a student and a teacher, right? SBXOC

Chapter Ten – Willow's Past

"An old friend, I take it?" Sirius asked.

From beside him, Willow nodded her head, pocketing the wrapped ornament.

"Yeah, my parents knew him very well." She sighed and looked up to the sky. "Dad hasn't set foot in that shop for nearly fifteen years," she murmured. "Not since mum's death."

Sirius blinked in surprise, whatever he had been expecting, it wasn't that.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

Willow turned to face him.

"Don't be," she said. "It wasn't your fault."

Silence fell for several seconds as they walked quietly along the cobbled street heading back towards Hogwarts.

"How'd she die?" Sirius eventually asked, curiosity winning out.

"Potions accident," Willow replied. "I was one when it happened; it was a week before my second birthday."

Sirius felt sorrow and sympathy well up for Willow inside him. In a way she was like Harry, losing her mother at such a young age.

"It's strange," Willow whispered, sounding thoughtful. "I don't miss her, I hardly knew her, but still," she paused, "It's like theirs this big, aching gap in me, as though a piece of me is missing." She glanced at Sirius. "Does that sound strange?"

Sirius shook his head.

"No, it doesn't, Willow," he said softly. "In fact, I know exactly what you mean, I lost my best friend several years ago, they died in a terrible car crash," he added, remembering the story that Harry had told him which Petunia Dursley had told him. "They left behind a beautiful baby boy, my godson."

"What happened to your godson?" Willow asked softly.

"Raised by his Aunt and Uncle," Sirius replied. "I see him occasionally, but," he gestured towards the castle, "with this job, well, it's hard to see him now."

Willow nodded in understanding before sighing deeply.

"They say things are only going to get worse," she said, staring up at the castle. "What with the rise of Voldemort, what?" she added, looking at Sirius who had gasped in surprise.

"Nothing," he said quickly. "I just didn't realise you said the name."

Willow shrugged.

"Dumbledore says it," she said, "and so should we. After all, fear of the name only increases the fear of the thing itself."

Sirius nodded in agreement.

"Dumbledore's a good man," he said. "The only person Voldemort's actually afraid of."

"That's the way it should be," Willow commented. "I reckon if more people were like Dumbledore, unafraid of him, then Voldemort wouldn't be as powerful as he is now." She sighed and ran a hand over her hair. "It's a human weakness, to be scared."

"That's why it takes a lot of bravery to show it," Sirius replied. "Hence the reason those brave people are in Gryffindor."

Willow looked at him.

"Do you think Voldemort can be stopped?" she asked.

Sirius smiled at this.

"I'm counting on it." He told her.

Willow smiled and to Sirius' surprise, wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

"Thanks for today, Professor," she whispered. "I really appreciated it."

Sirius gave her a light squeeze before releasing her.

"Don't mention it."

* * *

Sirius walked with an easy grace back up the path towards Hogwarts, Remus and Peter beside him. They had enjoyed their day out together and had even taken the opportunity to spy on James, well, Sirius had. Remus and Peter had been quite reluctant to do so, but Sirius was not one to be shy about things and so had done so, pulling stupid faces at James when Lily wasn't looking causing James to be embarrassed and even give him the finger in response.

The only thing that hadn't been good about their day was seeing Professor Century leaving the Three Broomsticks with a student, a student that Sirius vaguely recognised. Remus was convinced that Professor Century's intention were honourable and that it had, perhaps been a coincidence. Peter, on the other hand, had refused to take a side but mostly agreed with Remus on the whole thing.

They continued walking up the path when something caught Sirius' eye causing him to halt where he was, Remus and Peter, who had been walking behind him, also stopped staring at what Sirius was staring at.

A little in front of them Professor Century stood with the student from before, as they watched, the student hugged Professor Century, who looked slightly taken aback, before he hugged her back. After several seconds he released her and the two walked back up towards the castle conversing.

Sirius stared after them.

"Did you see that?" Peter squeaked from behind him.

Remus nodded but appeared unbothered.

"It's just a hug," he said. "Beside Willow hugged him first."

"Willow?"

Sirius whirled facing Remus and Peter who both looked quite surprised by his statement.

"Yes," Remus said eyeing him curiously. "That was Willow Briar, everything alright, Pads?"

Sirius nodded before turning back around and walking purposefully up towards Hogwarts, trying to ignore the twisting feeling in his gut.

They reached the castle to find that both Professor Century and Willow had gone. Sirius was still angry about what he had seen and so, when Remus suggested homework, he couldn't find an excuse to avoid it.

For the rest of the afternoon the three of them sat in the common room pouring over the books, doing their homework.

About two hours into their homework, the portrait hole opened to reveal James and Lily, their hands intertwined.

Sirius immediately forgot all about homework when he saw this and let out a loud wolf-whistle causing James to glare while Lily blushed, smiling.

"About time!" Sirius cried, jumping to his feet. "We thought that you two would never surface from your snogging." He laughed and ducked out of the way of the punch that James sent his way.

"Ignore him," Remus said glancing up from his homework and smiling at the couple. "Congratulations I believe in order. Four years of pursuing and you finally got her, Prongs."

James just grinned widely.

"And it was worth it," he said, turning to face Lily who blushed with pleasure.

"Well," she said, "I best leave you guys too it, besides I promised Marlene and Emmeline that I'd tell them all the details about our date." She smiled and placed a light kiss on James' cheek before bidding good bye to them and heading up to the girls' dormitory.

Sirius waited until Lily was out of sight before turning to James, who was staring after Lily, a love-sick expression on his face.

"Earth to Prongs!" Sirius cried, waving a hand in front of his mate's face.

James blinked before turning to face Sirius.

"What?" he asked.

Sirius just laughed before slinging an arm around his friend's shoulders and leading him towards a seat.

"You going to tell us how it went?" he asked. "Or are we going to have to guess?"

James grinned at them and launched into the story of how his date with Lily had gone.

* * *

Willow hummed as she walked the familiar steps to the owlery, the present for her dad now wrapped in a parcel. Reaching the owlery, she managed to convince a large, strong looking barn owl down from its perch, and tied the parcel to its leg.

She had had a good day with Professor Century in Hogsmeade. He was a very respectable man who clearly loved his godson; that she had seen in his eyes and in the tone of his voice when he had spoken of him.

She smiled and watched out of the window as the barn owl took flight, flying south towards her home. She watched the owl fly for a while before sighing deeply and turning to exit the owlery, her mind still on the conversation she had had with Professor Century.

She didn't know why she had taken him to that shop and told him about her mother, she just had a strange feeling that she could trust him. It was weird she had never mentioned her mother's death until her third year when Isabella had asked her about her mother, in which Willow had been forced to reveal the truth.

Sure, Isabella was her best friend and had been sympathetic, but Willow just couldn't face taking her to that shop in Hogsmeade. It had been something she had done with her parents, a memory to keep her mother alive.

But Professor Century, well, she had taken him there after only knowing him two months. Strange how things worked, but with Professor Century she just felt that he understood and that he could be trusted. She trusted Isabella of course, she trusted all her friends, but, she just seemed to trust Professor Century more.

Perhaps it's because of his presence, being around him just made Willow feel at ease, he had a calming influence about him and treated all of them as if they were long lost friends, including the Slytherins.

Willow didn't think she fancied him, sure he was good looking and extremely smart and well-liked, but Willow just felt comfortable with him, the way she would an older brother.

Sighing to herself once more, she began to whistle a little tune as she headed across the ground and towards the castle.

However, she had barely made it out of the owlery fifty feet when someone spoke.

"Well, well, well, what have we got here?"

Willow groaned as she recognised the voice.

"Go away, Greengrass." She said, continuing to walk.

There were sounds of laughter and then Willow found herself hanging upside by her ankles, only just managing to grab hold of her top to stop it from flying up and revealing her bra.

"It's not polite to walk away when someone's talking to you." Willow glared at Greengrass who was walking towards her, a smirk on his face. "Perhaps we should teach you some manners." He glanced at the people behind him and Willow's eyes widened in horror as she recognised the seventh years.

Avery and Mulciber stood there, smirking while Pucey and Parkinson hovered in the background, grinning.

Willow watched as Avery walked towards her, his wand out, he flicked it and Willow dropped, managing to twist herself so that she landed on her back. Wincing at the pain, she made to stand up but found herself dragged to her feet instead.

"Take her to the lake." Avery told them, Mulciber and Greengrass coming to stand beside him.

Willow found herself hauled along the grounds, dipping towards where the lake lay. From what she could gather, it appeared that both Pucey and Parkinson where the ones dragging her. Eventually they stopped and Willow found herself once again suspended in mid-air.

"Let's see if you've learnt any respect," Avery hissed before flicking his wand causing her to be moved out towards the middle of the lake.

Willow glared at him.

"Put me down!" she cried.

Avery just smirked while his fellow Slytherins laughed.

"As you wi-"

"Oi! Leave her alone!"

Avery was cut off by the sound of the voice and turned to see four students sprinting towards him.

"It's those stupid Gryffindors," Mulciber muttered from beside him. "Potter, Black and their friends."

Avery snarled and turned back towards Willow.

"Hope you can swim." He said, and with that, he dropped Willow into the lake.

Hitting the water head first, Willow twisted and kicked up towards the surface, her head broke the surface and she took a gulp of air.

"You arrogant idiots!"

Willow turned towards the shore to see three Gryffindors with their wands out at the Slytherins; they too had their wands pointed. Another Gryffindor stood behind the other three eyeing them all nervously.

Scowling darkly, Willow began to swim back to shore, thoroughly annoyed. When she reached them she was going to give them a piece of her mind.

She had barely got a few centimetres when she felt something grab her leg, glancing down, she saw several green shapes that she immediately recognised as Grindylows. She barely had time to scream before, with a hearty tug, she was pulled under.

**A/N: I think this is the first cliff-hanger I've left on this story. I hoped you liked it.**

**I have to say after several months of being away, I'm glad my writing ability has not abandoned me.**

**Remember, I appreciate review – very much!**

**Again, until next time…**

**Wacky Wizard **


	12. The Lake

**Disclaimer: You should know by now.**

**Summary: **When Sirius fell through the veil, he didn't die, but was instead sent back in time, to be more precise, his last year of Hogwarts. Now the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor he finds himself disliking his younger self but drawn to a sixth year student by the name of Willow Briar. But nothing can happen between a student and a teacher, right? SBXOC

Chapter Eleven – The Lake

Sirius walked with James, Remus and Peter through the Entrance Hall doors of Hogwarts, it was rather a sunny day and James had suggested they go outside and enjoy a bit of fresh air while taking a break from their homework. All three of them had agreed and now they found themselves walking across the grounds towards the lake.

"We've got another date planned for the next Hogsmeade weekend," James was saying, referring to Lily, excitedly. "She told me she really enjoyed it and that she couldn't wait for another one."

Sirius grinned; he was pleased that his best friend and brother had finally got the girl he'd always wanted.

"Rosmerta was pleased for you," he mentioned.

James beamed before returning to talking about how his date with Lily went. But Sirius was only half paying attention, he had seen a bunch of Slytherins heading towards the lake; two of them appeared to be dragging something.

"Prongs," he said, nudging James in the side with his elbow.

James stopped talking and looked at Sirius who inclined his head towards the lake.

"What are they doing?" he asked.

"It appears that they're tormenting some poor woman." Remus replied quietly as the one of the Slytherins flicked their wand causing their victim to be hung upside down by her ankles before being floated out over the lake.

"Put me down!" they heard her cry.

"Isn't that Willow?" James asked.

Sirius nodded, anger coursing through his veins. Pulling out his wand he ran towards the lake, James, Remus and Peter quick to follow.

Avery started to say something but Sirius interrupted him.

"Oi! Leave her alone!"

Avery turned to face him and Sirius watched as Mulciber leaned in and said something that caused Avery to turn and say something to Willow before he released her causing her to drop head first into the lake.

"You arrogant idiots!" Sirius yelled, pointing his wand at them.

To his annoyance Avery deflected the silent stunner and the others drew their wand just as Sirius drew up before them, panting. James and Remus quickly joined them while Peter stayed behind, his wand by his side.

"What are you going to do, Black?" Avery drawled.

Sirius snarled and made to reply but James cut across him.

"In case you've forgotten, Avery," he spat. "I'm Head Boy."

The looks on their faces soured and Sirius smirked triumphantly.

"That'll be fifty points from Slytherin and a detention each; I'll make sure to inform Professor McGonagall and Professor Slughorn about this." James continued.

Avery looked murderous and opened his mouth, presumably to insult them, but a scream cut through him and they all turned to see Willow disappear under water, a look of terror on her face.

Avery, Mulciber and their friends began to laugh.

"Guess you're friend needs saving." Avery said, laughing.

Sirius made to lunge at him but James put an arm out to stop him. Still laughing the Slytherins headed back up towards the castle.

"What did you do that for?" Sirius snarled, turning to James.

James looked at him.

"Because I thought that Willow's life was slightly more important." He told him.

Sirius' eyes widened in realisation and he whirled back round, kicked off his shoes, pulled off his leather jacket and jumped in the lake, wading out towards the edge, before taking a deep breath and plunging into the icy depths.

The water was absolutely freezing on his skin, but Sirius didn't care. He was too occupied with finding Willow.

Eventually, he spotted her.

She was being dragged down by several Grindylows, but Sirius had to admit she was doing a pretty good job of fighting them. Her feet were kicking hard at them and he watched as she bent down and swatted at one, it retaliated by biting her hand causing her to let out a stream of bubbles in pain before shutting her mouth, her eyes widening as she realised she didn't have much air.

Swimming towards her, Sirius pointed his wand at the offending Grindylows sending several angry red bubbles at them and causing them to let out small shrieks and release Willow who looked at him gratefully before her eyelids began to droop, grabbing her around the waist, Sirius hoisted her to the surface and took in a lungful of air, from beside him Willow spluttered up water.

Chancing a glance at her, he was horrified to find that she was pale and shivering. Knowing he had to get her out of the water fast, he towed her towards shore and was met halfway by James and Remus who had waded in to help. Remus took Willow from him while James helped him up, all four of them headed towards shore where Peter was stood looking anxiously at them.

"You alright, Willow?" Remus asked anxiously as Willow shivered.

Willow nodded, drawing her knees into her chest.

"Here." Remus said softly pointing his wand at her, immediately her clothes began to steam and she stopped shivering so much.

"I'm going to kill those bloody Slytherins." Sirius hissed as he performed the same charm upon himself and began to tie his shoes. "Arrogant wankers."

James nodded in agreement, anger seething within him.

"I'm reporting them to Dumbledore, that's for sure." He said, his hazel eyes blazing. "They have no right, no right at all."

Sirius nodded in agreement but was cut off by Peter's gasp and Remus' cry of "Willow!"

Turning to face them, Sirius felt blood drain from his face.

Willow sat there, struggling to breathe. Remus was crouched next to her, trying to calm her, her eyes were screwed tightly shut as she tried, but failed, to control herself.

Acting quickly, Sirius swooped down and cradled Willow in his arms, she curled up against him and Sirius could hear her erratic breathing.

"Hospital Wing, now." James said sharply.

Sirius didn't need telling twice, standing up Sirius rushed towards the castle, his friends following him. They entered the castle and dashed down the corridors, Willow clinging tightly to Sirius.

"James?"

James whirled at the sound of his name, the others followed to see Lily hurrying towards them.

"What's the matter?" she asked, her eyes darting to Willow.

"Willow's not well." Sirius supplied. "We've got to get her to the Hospital Wing."

Lily nodded.

"I'll get Isabella," she said. "It sounds like she needs an inhaler." She turned and began running towards Gryffindor tower.

"Get Dumbledore as well!" James called after her. "She was dropped in the lake by some students!"

Lily nodded before picking up her pace as Sirius, James, Remus and Peter continued their dash towards the Hospital Wing, Willow still being held tightly in Sirius' arms.

"Mr Black, Mr Potter, Mr Lupin and Mr Pettigrew!" Madam Pomfrey shrieked as they ran through the doors. "What is the meaning of this?"

"She's having an asthma attack," Remus informed her.

Madam Pomfrey's eyes widened and she quickly directed them towards a bed. Sirius strode towards it and placed Willow delicately upon it. He moved back and Madam Pomfrey swooped forwards trying to find some way to make Willow calm down.

The Hospital Wing doors opened for a second time and all of them turned to see Lily enter panting, Isabella – Willow's friend – beside her while Dumbledore and Professor Century followed.

Dumbledore's face was a mask of concern as he walked forwards, Professor Century followed his face a mask of worry. Lily and Isabella shared the same look as they approached first and Isabella held a small blue object out towards Willow who took it with trembling hands before removing the lid, popping it into her mouth and taking a breath before clicking the button at the top, she did this twice more before removing it.

All of them watched as her breathing finally slowed and she was able to speak.

"Thanks." She said weakly to Isabella who smiled back.

"I'm just glad you're okay," she murmured before swooping down and hugging Willow, placing a light kiss on her cheek as she did so.

Willow hugged her back before slumping against her pillows, Sirius thought she looked exhausted.

"Miss Briar," Professor Dumbledore said stepping forwards, causing Isabella to step back. "How are you feeling?"

"Slightly better now, thank you, Professor." Willow replied. "More tired than anything."

Professor Dumbledore nodded in understanding.

"Harry and Miss Milano, why don't you stay here with Willow while I speak with Mr Black, Mr Potter, Mr Lupin , Mr Pettigrew and Miss Evans outside in the hall." He said, looking at Professor Century who nodded and sank into a chair next to Willow's bed. Isabella did the same, pulling up a chair.

Professor Dumbledore turned to the rest of them before heading out of the Hospital Wing, they dutifully followed him. Once they were outside, Professor Dumbledore turned to them.

"What happened?" he asked his voice calm.

The five of them glanced between them before turning to face Dumbledore and Sirius spoke.

"It was Avery and some of his friends," he told the Headmaster, "They dropped Willow in the lake, she was alright at first, but then she was pulled under by some Grindylows."

Dumbledore nodded looking severe.

"Do you know who else was there?" he asked.

This time it was James who spoke.

"Mulciber, Pucey, Parkinson and some guy I didn't know." He said.

"Greengrass." Peter supplied.

James looked at him, thankful, before turning back to Professor Dumbledore.

"I took fifty points from them and gave them a detention each. I told them I was going to inform Professor McGonagall and Professor Slughorn about it." He continued.

Dumbledore nodded.

"I shall inform both Professor McGonagall and Professor Slughorn," he said. "And rest assured; they shall be punished. You may return to Miss Briar."

Sirius nodded before turning and walking back into the Hospital Wing. Professor Century and Isabella were still sat their talking quietly to Willow.

"Hey, Lily." Sirius said, glancing at her.

Lily looked at him.

"Yes, Sirius?" she asked.

Sirius glanced over at Professor Century again before turning to face her once again.

"How come Professor Century's here?"

Lily blinked and she too looked over at their Defence teacher, before she shrugged.

"He was talking to Dumbledore," she said. "I told them both what had happened and he followed me here."

Sirius nodded the feeling in his gut from earlier returning.

"Why?"

Sirius turned to face Lily startled.

She was looking at him with a curious expression on her face, her green eyes staring at him.

Sirius found himself rather uncomfortable under her gaze but shrugged it off.

"No reason," he replied. "Just wondered."

Lily looked like she didn't believe him but didn't press the subject, instead focusing her attention on Willow who they had now reached.

"You alright, Willow?" she asked, tucking a strand of her long, dark red hair behind her ear.

Willow nodded, smiling.

"Madam Pomfrey fixed my hand," she held up the hand that the Grindylow had bitten, "she wants to keep me overnight for observation, but says I can be released tomorrow if nothing major happens during the night."

"That's good news," Lily said, smiling at her. "At least you won't miss any classes."

Willow nodded in agreement before looking at them all.

"What did Dumbledore want you for, anyway?"

"He wanted to know what had happened," Remus replied.

Willow nodded.

"Shame I didn't get to kick Avery's arse though." She said, shrugging.

"Avery?"

Sirius turned to see Professor Century looking at Willow, an eyebrow raised.

Willow turned to face him.

"Avery pushed me in." she told him.

Professor Century's face darkened but other than that he said nothing, causing Willow to turn to face Sirius and beam.

"Thanks for pulling me out," she said.

Sirius waved it away.

"No problem," he replied, smiling.

Willow grinned back before turning to chat to the rest of them leaving Sirius with a very happy feeling in his gut.

**A/N: And that is the conclusion to the cliff hanger, hoped you liked it.**

**All from young Sirius' view, I think I did it like that because we get to explore Sirius' feelings and can hazard guesses at what they are, even if Sirius doesn't know/recognise his own feelings yet.**

**Anyways, hope you liked it and leave me a review, as I've said before, they make my day, literally, seriously, you have no idea how bored/depressed I can get.**

**Well, until next time my beauties!**

**Wacky Wizard **


	13. New Friends

**Disclaimer: You should know by now.**

**Summary: **When Sirius fell through the veil, he didn't die, but was instead sent back in time, to be more precise, his last year of Hogwarts. Now the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor he finds himself disliking his younger self but drawn to a sixth year student by the name of Willow Briar. But nothing can happen between a student and a teacher, right? SBXOC

**A/N: Thank you for being so patient, I've been so busy latly that I keep forgetting to update! :s Hope you like it anyway!**

Chapter Twelve – New Friends

Willow was indeed released the next day, after being given the all clear from Madam Pomfrey.

Her friend Isabella took helped her back to the common room, and on the way they talked about what had happened the day before.

"You should have seen Sirius' face," Isabella told her, "He was furious, he looked like he wanted to kill someone, but he was so gentle with you."

Willow smiled and shrugged lightly.

"He's a good guy," she said.

Isabella giggled.

"A good guy who fancies you," she teased.

Willow merely raised an eyebrow at this.

"I don't think so," she told her, "Since when has Sirius Black every fancied anyone, or have you noticed him going on actual dates while the rest of the school were asleep?"

Isabella shrugged, unbothered by this small fact.

"I still says he fancies you," she said – stubbornly Willow thought. "I mean, James Potter hasn't dated anyone since he started liking Lily Evans, and now look at them, practically attached at the hip."

"Yes," Willow agreed, "But James has fancied her since third year, Sirius, on the other hand, hasn't fancied anyone since he arrived."

Isabella merely smiled, smugly.

"Well, like they say," she said, "Better late than never."

Willow just rolled her eyes before turning and saying the password to the fat lady, who swung open to let them in.

Willow had barely stepped through the portrait hole when there was a cry of joy and something heavy collided with her, nearly knocking her off her feet.

From behind her, Isabella laughed.

"Let her breathe, you two." She said.

The arms released her and Willow blinked to see both Lacretia and Mary stood before her. Lacretia was grinning and Mary was biting her lip in worry.

"Are you okay?" Mary asked, "Do you feel alright?"

Willow smiled.

"I'm fine, Mary," she said. "Madam Pomfrey would hardly let me out of the Hospital Wing if I wasn't."

"True," agreed Lacretia, grinning at her. "What do you say to a bit of flying later, weather's really nice."

Willow nodded.

"I'll just grab my broom." She said.

Two minutes later and Willow returned her broom in hand. Lacretia was also holding her broom while both Isabella and Mary clutched a book.

Meeting together, all four of them headed out of the common room and down towards the ground. They reached the Quidditch pitch to find it already occupied by the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

Three people sat in the stands. The girl with long, dark red hair waved to them as they approached.

"Hello Willow," Lily said smiling at them. "I take it your better?"

Willow nodded.

"Loads, thank you."

Lily smiled and moved up the bench so that they could sit down. From beside her Remus and Peter leaned forwards and waved, Willow waved back before turning to face Lily.

"Where's Sirius?" she asked. "I thought he was a Quidditch fanatic."

From beside her she heard Isabella giggle as she asked this question, but ignored it.

"One of James' beaters is ill, so James agreed to let Sirius sub for them." Lily told her.

Willow glanced up at the sky just as a bludger flew overhead, seconds later a beaters bat connected with it, sending it flying back to where it had come from. Willow glanced at the person holding the beaters bat to find Sirius sat on a broom, his face a mask of concentration as he flew around the pitch, keeping an eye on the bludger.

"He's not bad," Willow commented. "Do you think James will let him sub if the beaters not well?"

Lily shrugged.

"I think Sirius hopes so," Remus replied instead. "I know he defiantly wants to be in the air if we're against Slytherin in the final."

"I reckon Hufflepuff have got a fair chance this year," Mary commented, from where her nose was buried in a book. "They've got some really good new players."

"And how would you know that?" Isabella asked intrigued, looking at her friend.

Mary didn't reply, but there was a faint blush across her cheeks.

"Well, it looks like they're finishing up," Lily said, rising to her feet.

The others also rose.

"See you later?" Lily asked as she, Remus and Peter made to head down towards the pitch.

Willow nodded and watched them go before turning to Mary and Isabella who had re-seated themselves again.

"You guys staying?" she asked.

Both nodded and Willow turned to Lacretia to find that she was already in the air.

"Race you round the Quidditch pitch!" she cried, before zooming forwards.

Willow laughed and climbed onto her broom, kicking off hard from the ground; she zoomed into the air and hurtled after Lacretia.

She caught up with her in seconds.

The two flew round the pitch, neck and neck most of the way, Willow encouraging her broom to go faster, as they reached the invisible finish line – the place they had started – Willow managed to urge her broom on, passing Lacretia and winning the race.

"And Briar is still undefeated!" she cried, turning her broom round to grin at Lacretia who pulled up beside her.

"Nice technique!"

Both Willow and Lacretia looked down to see five people stood on the pitch. Grinning as she recognised them, Willow headed down into a dive towards them, Lacretia followed them.

Deciding it would be rather funny to scare them, Willow leaned forwards on her broom, hurtling towards them, she saw the look of surprise pass across both James and Sirius' face and heard Peter give a startled squeak before she pulled up on her broom, flying above them and circled them once, laughing. Both Remus and Lily also smiled in amusement.

"Merlin," James Potter said, looking at her as he straightened his glasses. "I honestly thought you were going to fly into us."

Willow laughed and took her hands off her broom, hovering beside them.

"Scaredy-cat." She teased.

James retaliated to that comment by doing the mature thing of sticking his tongue out causing Willow to grin.

"Nice piece of flying," Sirius told her, he too was grinning. "Where'd you learn to fly like that?"

Willow shrugged.

"Always been able to do it," she replied. "Dad says I get it off my mum, says she was one of the best flyers he'd ever seen. He was convinced she could have played Quidditch professionally, but she wanted to be a healer."

Sirius nodded while James eyed her.

"What's your mums name?" he asked.

Willow grinned.

"Temperance White." She said.

James let out a low whistle and even Sirius, Remus and Peter looked impressed. Lily, on the other hand, was practically bouncing with joy, which was odd as Willow had the feeling that she wasn't rather that big of a Quidditch fan.

"Ooo!" Lily cried, looking excited. "Professor Slughorn mentioned your mum, said she was one of the best potions brewers he'd ever seen, taught him quite a few things."

Willow smiled tightly at this, it was ironic really. The thing that her mother had excelled in had bought about her death.

"Not only she was an excellent potions brewer," Lily continued, "but Professor Flitwick spoke highly of her as well, used her as an example in charms club once. She was also an excellent Head Girl, Professor McGonagall mentioned her in a Head's meeting."

Willow nodded.

"I know," she said. "Professor McGonagall was in her fourth year when my Mum attended Hogwarts."

Sirius laughed from beside her.

"Imagine, McGonagall at Hogwarts."

James too smirked while Lily rolled her eyes, turning back towards Willow.

"Do you think your mother would give me advice?" she asked. "I'm really interested in becoming a healer."

Willow blinked taken aback and glanced at Lacretia only to find that she had, conveniently, disappeared.

"Well?"

Willow turned to see Lily looking at her anxiously; she immediately felt her stomach squirm.

"Well, I – I – um, well," she chewed her lip. "I don't think so." She said.

"Oh." Lily's face dropped.

"Not because she wouldn't want too," Willow hastened to add, "It's just, well, I suppose it's a bit hard to give advice when you're dead, unless of course you're a ghost, in which case, it'd be easy, but she's not a ghost. She died when I was one." She added lamely at the horrified look that had swept across Lily's face.

"Oh, Willow!" she cried, clamping her hands to her mouth. "I'm so sorry," she apologised. "I didn't mean too, I just… oh, and here I've been going on about how great your mother was, you must think me a total dolt."

Willow shook her head.

"Of course not, Lily," she said. "It's not like you knew, I mean it's not something I usually bring up in conversation."

"It'd be a right downer if you did." Sirius commented lightly causing Willow to turn and smile at him, understanding what he was trying to do.

"Don't worry about it, Lily," she said. "We all make mistakes; the thing is to learn from them."

James nodded from beside them.

"She's right you know," he told Lily. "I learnt that when I pulled my first prank and got caught, and I learnt from my mistake. Made sure no-one was looking the next time."

Sirius let out a bark of laughter while Peter teetered nervously. Remus shook his head smiling while Willow tried to stifle her laughter with her hand, and even Lily cracked a smile at this.

"Well," James said moments later, once they had all calmed down. "Shall we head back towards the castle; I do believe that lunch is almost upon us."

"Why yes, good fellow," Sirius said, pretending to be an old-fashioned posh person, "I do believe we shall."

With that he linked arms with James and the two began to walk towards the castle, practically skipping while Remus, Peter, Lily and Willow followed behind. Lily linking one of her arms through Willow's as they walked.

**A/N: A shorter chapter than usual but I couldn't think of anything else to write and it just seemed to end nicely here.**

**Another chapter from one person's view, this time Willow's. We find out a bit more about Willow's mum here, she's not entirely relevant to the plot, but it's just nice to have a bit of background about characters in the story, don't you think?**

**Anyway… hope you liked it.**

**You should know where the review button is by now ;)**

**Until the next time!**

**Wacky Wizard **


	14. Love

**Disclaimer: You should know by now.**

**Summary: **When Sirius fell through the veil, he didn't die, but was instead sent back in time, to be more precise, his last year of Hogwarts. Now the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor he finds himself disliking his younger self but drawn to a sixth year student by the name of Willow Briar. But nothing can happen between a student and a teacher, right? SBXOC

Chapter Thirteen – Love

Sirius was exhausted, physically and emotionally. He had been here nearly two months and Dumbledore had still not managed to return him to the present. And while Sirius was thankful in this small fact as it allowed him to be in the presence of his dead friends, he wanted to get away. He couldn't stand being in the same place as Peter, knowing what happened, knowing what he would do. He wanted to murder the boy before he even betrayed Lily and James, but knew that he couldn't. It would pollute the time stream continuum too much.

In fact, the only thing that kept him sane was the companionship of Willow Briar. Sirius didn't know why, but when she was near him, he felt calmer somehow, as if all his problems could be solved.

Willow had become even friendlier with him after the Hogsmeade incident. She often stayed after class to have a quick chat and popped into his office from time to time just for a catch up or for some help if she was struggling with something in Defence against the dark arts – something that was rare, for Sirius found she was rather good at it.

The friendship that transpired between the two had not gone unnoticed by Dumbledore and he often warned Sirius to be careful.

"She is only a student, Sirius," he would say, "she may, by technicality, be a year younger than you, but at this moment, she is a student."

Sirius had taken these words on.

"It's not like I'm falling for her, Albus," he'd reply, "she's just a friendly, young girl with whom I can have an adult conversation with, and a laugh."

But, if truth were to be told, Sirius was falling for her.

He hadn't noticed at first, for it had only been friendship he had been looking for. But, as time had gone on, he found himself noticing things he wouldn't have normally noticed.

Like the fact that she didn't like sugar in her tea, just the teabag – for she hated tea leaves as well, a repercussion of taking Divination – and milk. He had passed this off due to the fact that he was the same – minus the taking of Divination.

But then he had started to notice things, unusual things. For example, when she smiled, a dimple appeared in her left cheek. Her hair wasn't just the same colour as milk chocolate; it actually had a slight auburn tinge to it when the sun light fell on it. She tended to chew on her lip when she was thinking, tapped her nails when she was bored, jiggled her right foot when she was nervous and shifted her position when she was impatient.

It was when he started noticing these things that he realised. At first, he had passed it off as friendship, then tried to pass it off as the fact that he was constantly around her.

But he couldn't deny it any longer, it was love.

Simple as that, he had fallen for her – hook, line and sinker.

Sirius groaned and dropped his head into his hands. It wasn't that he didn't not want Willow, he did. He craved her companionship, longed to hear her voice and often tried to make her laugh when they were alone, just to amuse him. He was a desperate man, an absolutely desperate man and he needed help. Serious help.

"Professor?"

He glanced up sharply to see a young girl wearing Gryffindor robes in the doorway. Her long, dark red hair fell in front of her face, and she pushed it back, tucking it behind her ears as she looked at him with her green, almond shaped eyes.

"Is everything alright?" Lily asked. "It's just, I knocked five minutes ago, and you didn't appear to notice."

Sirius shook his head.

"It's nothing, Miss Evans," he said, leaning back in his chair. "What can I help you with?"

To his surprise, Lily's cheeks flushed red as if she was embarrassed.

"Well," she started twisting her hands, a habit Sirius recognised – she did this whenever she was nervous – "I was wondering, Professor, if you could give me some advice."

Sirius looked at her and smiled slightly.

"Of course, Miss Evans, please, take a seat." He gestured to the chair opposite him, which she took, her eyes looking at her hands, her hair falling in front of her face.

"You see, Professor," she continued, still talking to her hands. "There's this guy, and I really like him, I really do, but-"

"You don't know how to tell him?" Sirius asked gently.

Lily nodded, her face flaming even more causing Sirius to smile.

"Trust me, Miss Evans," he said, walking round the table towards her. "If you love Mr Potter as much as he loves you, then you'll be fine."

"Was I that obvious?" she asked, looking up at him.

Sirius chuckled.

"I'm afraid so," he said. "But don't worry, I don't think anyone else noticed." He winked causing Lily to smile before rising from her seat, tucking her hair behind her ears again.

"Thanks, Professor," she said. "You've been a great help."

Sirius smiled.

"It's quite alright, Miss Evans," he said. "It's what I'm here for."

Lily smiled and walked towards the door, before pausing and turning, chewing her lip once again.

"Professor," she said.

"Yes, Miss Evans?"

"I can see why Willow talks to you, you're good at giving advice." And with that she was gone, leaving a stunned Sirius behind.

* * *

James sat in the Gryffindor common room, surrounded by Sirius, Remus and Peter. Remus was once again helping Peter with his homework; something he did a lot, while Sirius was levitating objects due to boredom, he had, apparently, finished his homework. James, himself, was working on the Transfiguration essay Professor McGonagall had set them.

"Pst, Prongs,"

James glanced up at Sirius to see him inclining his head towards the portrait hole.

James turned in his seat to see Lily walk in with Willow who was muttering something to her. He watched Lily shake her head, terror present. Willow, on the other hand, rolled her eyes before moving in front of Lily and saying something that James didn't hear but made Lily pale, before she grabbed Willow's shoulders. He watched as Willow turned and pointed at him before pointing at herself and staring hard at Lily, who sighed and began to walk towards him, Willow followed, looking surprisingly smug.

"Hey guys," she said lightly, walking past them and sinking onto the couch beside Sirius.

James barely registered her presence, his eyes fixated on Lily who was twitching as she stood.

"Everything alright, Lils?" he asked softly.

Lily jumped as though she had received an electric shock before swallowing hard.

"Can I talk to you, James?" she asked. "Alone." She glanced at the others.

James nodded, rising from his seat.

"Sure," he replied. "Shall we go to the kitchens?"

Lily nodded and allowed James to take her hand as they headed back towards the portrait hole; he didn't miss the thumbs up that Willow sent their way, before the portrait of the fat lady closed behind them.

Sirius watched James and Lily exit the common room before turning to face Willow who was grinning beside them.

"What was all that about?" he asked.

Willow, if possible, just grinned harder.

"Lily's going to tell James she loves him." She told him.

There was a thud as Peter dropped his book in shock while Remus gaped outright. Sirius, on the other hand, merely smirked.

"Knew it." He said before bursting into laughter. "I wish I could see James' face when he hears her say it, he'll probably faint."

His eyes lit up as an idea came to him.

"Wait here," he told Willow before darting up the stairs that led to the boys' dormitory.

"Is he always like that?" he heard Willow ask.

"You have no idea." Remus deadpanned.

Throwing open the seventh year dorm, Sirius hurried towards James' trunk and rifled through it, eventually pulling the silver invisibility cloak out. Pocketing the cloak, he hurried down the stairs, grabbed Willow's hand, pulling her off the sofa, and rushed out of the portrait hole, Willow trailing behind.

"Sirius," she gasped, when he finally stopped. "What are we doing?"

Sirius motioned for her to be quiet before glancing around them, seeing no-one about; he withdrew the invisibility cloak from his pocket causing Willow to gasp.

"Is that a…?" she asked, staring at it.

Sirius nodded before flapping it out and flinging it around the both of them.

"It'll be easier to spy on James and Lily this way," he said.

From beside him, Willow giggled.

"Now I really feel like a spy," she whispered. "007 here I come!"

"What?" Sirius asked, not used to the muggle lingo she spouted.

Willow just shook her head.

"I'll explain later," she promised. "Come on," and with that she grabbed his hand and they set off for the direction of the kitchens.

Upon reaching the portrait of the fruit, Sirius reached out and carefully tickled the pear, it giggled and revealed a doorknob, pulling it, the two of them slipped silently into the kitchen to find James and Lily sat on some stools, a bowl of ice cream before them.

Tiptoeing carefully, Sirius and Willow snuck up on the unsuspecting couple.

"So Lily," James said casually, licking ice cream of his spoon. "You going to tell me why we're really here, because I'm guessing you didn't just want ice cream?" he raised an eyebrow at her and Lily blushed.

"Yes," she admitted, "well," she rubbed the back of her neck. "You see James, um, well, there's something I need to tell you, but I'm not entirely sure how to do it."

James smiled at her.

"Try taking a deep breath," he said. "I find that usually helps my nerves before a Quidditch game."

"Right," Lily said, she sucked in a lungful of air. "I love you!" she blurted before ducking her head, blushing.

For several moments, James sat there, stunned. Sirius had to stuff a fist in his mouth to stop himself from bursting out laughing.

"Really?" James' voice was hoarse as though it hadn't been used in ages.

Lily nodded, still not looking at him.

And then, it was like the sunshine breaking through the clouds, James smiled, growing so big it looked like his face would burst.

"Really?" he asked again, this time sounding giddy.

Lily nodded, again.

"Yes!" the word burst from James' lip and Sirius had to move him and Willow out of the way for James had jumped off his chair, causing it to fall backwards, and leapt across the table, taking Lily in his arms and pulling her into the most passionate embrace Sirius had ever seen. He wanted to look away out of politeness but found he couldn't.

Willow nudged him in the ribs.

"Stop staring, it's rude." She hissed.

Sirius glanced at her, to see that she too was transfixed on Lily and James.

"Like you can talk." He hissed back.

Willow responded by waving her hand at him to shut up. Rolling his eyes, Sirius turned back to the scene to find that James had risen for air and that Lily was nearly the same colour as her hair.

"I love you too." James whispered causing Lily to look up at him sharply.

A smile crossed her face as she saw the sincerity and she pulled him back for another kiss.

"This would be our cue to leave," Willow murmured.

Sirius nodded, agreeing whole heartedly and the two of them ducked out of the kitchen and made it to the second floor before their laughter got the better of them.

Pulling the cloak of them both, Sirius lent against the wall, taking deep breath to calm his laughter.

"I never thought, in a million years, that I'd ever witness Lily Evans willingly kiss James, let alone admit she loved him." He breathed.

Beside him, Willow shrugged and pushed her hair of her face.

"Love does the strangest things," she said. "I'm just glad Lily and James have found it."

Sirius nodded in agreement.

"So am I." He said. "Although I do wish he'd shut up going on about her."

Willow laughed at this and looked up at him.

"You're a good friend to put up with him, Sirius." She said.

Sirius shrugged, looking at her.

"He's like a brother." He admitted.

Willow smiled.

"I know."

And, somehow, Sirius rather thought she did.

**A/N: Okay, so a Lily/James chapter. I couldn't resist. I'm weak I tell you! Weak!**

**Okay… past the dramatics now.**

**Another chapter done and dusted people, so, do me a favour and keep the reviews coming! Like I've said before, reviews are my life!**

**Until next time my beauties ;)**

**Wacky Wizard **


	15. Costume Shopping

**Disclaimer: You should know by now.**

**Summary: **When Sirius fell through the veil, he didn't die, but was instead sent back in time, to be more precise, his last year of Hogwarts. Now the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor he finds himself disliking his younger self but drawn to a sixth year student by the name of Willow Briar. But nothing can happen between a student and a teacher, right? SBXOC

**A/N: Sorry it's taken so long to update... a lot of work to do :( Anyways, next chapter is up! Hope you enjoy it :)**

Chapter Fourteen – Costume shopping

Halloween was on its way, and the Saturday before had a Hogsmeade trip organised, meaning everyone would be buying costumes for the upcoming Halloween ball.

It was tradition, every year, for the Halloween ball to be held, and had been since the founders day. In fact, it had been Helga Hufflepuff who had suggested that they hold a ball, due to the importance of it. It was a day to celebrate magic and all the founders had agreed upon the ball, it was one of the only things they had managed to agree upon.

Willow had agreed to go with both her friends in sixth year and the year above. Deciding to the do the costume shopping with Isabella, Lacretia and Mary and then meet up afterwards with Lily and the Marauders for lunch at the three broomsticks, Isabella, Lacretia and Mary had agreed to have lunch with her seventh year friends before going their separate ways.

Dressing in a pair of skinny jeans, a tight fitting red t-shirt with her favourite leather jacket slipped on top, a pair of black and white converse on her feet and her hair pulled back into a messy bun, Willow headed down towards the Great Hall with Mary. Both Lacretia and Isabella were still preparing themselves for Hogsmeade – sleeping in – and neither Willow nor Mary could be bothered to wait for them anymore.

Entering the great hall, they headed towards the Gryffindor table which was mostly empty except for a few over excited third years girls who were giggling as Willow and Mary walked past.

"I can't ever remember being that giggly," Mary muttered as they began putting food on their plate.

Willow just smiled.

"No-one could accuse you of being giggly, Mary." She said.

Mary rolled her eyes at this comment before a smirk spread across her face.

"I do believe your fancy man's just walked through the door."

Willow glanced towards the Great Hall doors to see Sirius stroll in with Remus and Peter, grinning. He too was wearing a pair of skinny jeans; a leather jacket was thrown over his tight white t-shirt while a pair of black converses – not unlike her own - covered his feet. She noticed that several girls were looking at him, several in lust, the others in admiration.

For some reason, she felt annoyed at the girls looking at him before a sense of happiness settled as he spotted her and grinned before sliding into the seat next to her.

"Alright, Willow?" he asked.

Willow nodded.

"Nice coat," she said, gesturing to his leather jacket.

He let out a bark of laughter, his grin widening.

"Nice jacket yourself." He replied.

Willow grinned at him before turning to face Remus and Peter and greeting them before introducing Mary to them.

"Where's James?" she asked.

From beside her, Sirius snorted.

"Where do you think?" he asked. "He waited for Lily; the two have been inseparable since they started dating." Even though he was pretending to be annoyed, Willow could hear the affection for the two in his tone but hid her smile behind a cup of tea she was drinking.

"Oh well, look at that. Drinking tea and having a great time without us!"

Willow's head swivelled to find Isabella and Lacretia walking towards them. Isabella was wearing a pair of leggings with an oversized jumped and her favourite flats while Lacretia wore jeans and a long sleeved red jumper, a pair of trainers on her feet.

"Sorry," Mary apologised as Isabella and Lacretia sank into a seat across from them. "But I learnt never to wake you, after what happened last time."

Willow hid a grin as Isabella scowled. Sirius, on the other hand, looked intrigued by this piece of information.

"What happened?" he asked, leaning across Willow to look at Mary.

Mary opened her mouth to reply but was silenced by a glare from Isabella.

"If you tell him," she hissed. "I will make your life a misery."

Mary pouted, knowing Isabella as long as she had; she knew it was probably true.

"Sorry Black," she said, facing Sirius. "But my lips are sealed." With that she made a zipping motion across her lips causing Sirius to grin.

"Never mind," he said. "I'm sure I'll find out soon enough." He winked at Willow who smirked.

"If you think that your charming good looks and ability to flirt with anything that has breasts is going to make me tell you, then you are sadly mistaken." And with that she rose from the table and headed out of the Great Hall leaving a gaping Sirius in her wake.

* * *

Sirius strolled round the peaceful village of Hogsmeade. He was searching for a costume for the upcoming Halloween ball that Hogwarts was hosting. He smiled to himself as he remembered the Halloween balls he had had while at Hogwarts, and if he remembered correctly, this one was going to be as good as he remembered.

Entering Gladrags Wizardwear he thumbed through the place looking for an appropriate costume, when he heard voices.

"I am not coming out!"

"Come on, Willow, you look fine!"

Turning, Sirius saw Isabella, Lacretia and Mary stood by the dressing room in which is appeared Willow was getting changed.

His heart thudding against his rib cage, he watched transfixed as Isabella dove into the curtains and pulled a struggling Willow out.

"Damn you're strong." Willow muttered as she was revealed to the crowd.

Isabella smirked.

"Why thank you," she said. "And I don't see what your problem is, you look great."

Willow just folded her arms over her chest, glaring at Isabella.

Isabella rolled her eyes.

"Fine," she said. "Let's find some random person to give a second opinion." And with that she turned to look round the shop in search of someone, Sirius quickly busied himself with looking in the racks for a costume.

"Professor Century?"

Sirius closed his eyes before taking a deep breath and turning to face Isabella who was stood beside him, a smile on her face.

"Miss Milano," he said, smiling. "What can I do for you?"

"Could you tell Willow, here," she gestured to where Willow was stood; trying to cover the outfit she was wearing. "That she looks fine."

The dress was a dark blue, the same colour as sapphires (the same colour of Willow's eyes, Sirius noted) it was strapless and hit the floor, fitting tightly in all the right places, the whole dress was littered with glitter and Sirius had to admit she looked stunning.

However, ignoring the pounding of his heart and the part of the brain that wanted to scream that she looked extremely sexy, he managed a smile and a nod of approval.

"You look very beautiful, Miss Briar," he said.

Willow looked at him, her eyebrow raised in surprise before she turned to face Isabella who held up a frilly pink dress.

"You can always be Aphrodite," she threatened.

Willow balked at the idea.

"I'll keep this dress." She said before diving behind the curtain once more.

"Who are you going as?" Sirius couldn't help but ask.

Isabella grinned.

"I'm going as Aphrodite, goddess of love, Lacretia," she pointed to the dark skinned girl, "is going as Artemis, goddess of the hunt, Willow," she inclined her head towards the changing room, "is going as Athena, goddess of wisdom, and Mary," she looked at Mary, "who are you going as again?"

Mary sighed impatiently.

"Hecate," she told her. "Patron goddess of witchcraft."

"That's it," Isabella said, turning to face him. "What are you going as, Professor Century?" she asked.

Sirius shrugged and looked at the rack.

"No idea." He replied, honestly.

"What about a prince?"

Sirius' head snapped towards Isabella who was searching through the rack before pulling out a tuxedo.

"Or maybe James Bond." She added as she looked at the costume. "What do you think?" she asked, glancing at him.

Sirius took the tuxedo from her and eyed her. He remembered watching the James Bond films with James, Remus and Lily after they had graduated Hogwarts, Lily and Remus explaining who and what James Bond was.

"Thanks, Miss Milano," he said smiling at her. "I do believe you have just helped me solve a slight problem."

Isabella smiled sunnily at him before he headed to the pay desk and paid for the tuxedo, with a departing smile to Isabella, Lacretia, Mary and Willow – who had now exited the changing room, wearing normal clothes – he exited the shop, quite thankful to be out of there.

* * *

Lily sat in the three broomsticks with Remus and Peter. James and Sirius had gone up to order, beside her sat a bag with her costume in it. She couldn't wait for the Halloween ball to come; she was going to look amazing.

The door to the Three Broomsticks opened and Lily glanced towards it, her face breaking into a smile as Willow entered followed by her three friends, each of them carrying a bag that, Lily presumed, held their costume.

"Over here!" she called.

Willow spotted her and inclined to her with her head to her friends, who followed after Willow before seating themselves at the table. Willow sat next to Lily, Lacretia sitting beside her while Isabella sat between Lacretia and Peter, and Mary plonked herself down beside Remus.

"Get your costume then?" Lily asked, inclining her head towards the bag that Willow dumped down beside her.

Willow nodded.

"Yeah, you?"

Lily nodded, inclining her head towards the bag beside her just as James and Sirius reappeared carrying nine butterbeers between them.

"Here you go," James said handing a butterbeer to Remus, Mary, Peter and Lily before taking a seat and leaving Sirius to hand butterbeer to Willow, Isabella and Lacretia before he pulled up a seat, squeezing between Lily and Willow.

"All set for the Halloween ball?" he asked, pulling the tab of his butterbeer.

Willow nodded before slapping at Sirius' hands as he tried to nosy.

"No," she told him firmly, "You'll have to wait until Halloween."

Sirius pouted at her.

"Please." He begged.

Willow shook her head.

"No." she said firmly, yanking the tab of her butterbeer causing Sirius to raise an eyebrow.

"She's just mad because Professor Century saw her in the dress," Isabella commented, tucking her hair behind her shoulder and resting her arms on the table.

Willow sent a withering glare at her friend who, either didn't see it or, ignored it.

"Really?"

Lily watched in amusement as Sirius' lips thinned and his eyebrow rose further, disappearing into his hair line.

"And what did Professor Century say?"

"Just that I looked nice." Willow muttered.

Lacretia snorted.

"I believe he said 'you look beautiful, Miss Briar.'" She pointed out.

Willow rolled her eyes.

"Does it matter what he said?" she asked.

"To you it does, obviously." Isabella pointed out before taking a swig of her drink.

"It doesn't matter," Willow snapped. "Professor Century is a friend, and that's it."

"Sure," Lacretia said sarcastically, "but you'd like to be more than friends, wouldn't you?" she grinned slyly at Willow who sighed deeply before saying calmly.

"There is nothing going on between Professor Century and I. We are just good friends, and besides, he reminds me of my father."

Isabella snorted into her drink at this and even Lily had to hide a smile behind her hand.

"So, there's nothing going on?" Sirius asked, and Lily could see he was struggling to keep his voice calm.

Willow nodded, sparing him a glance.

"Absolutely nothing." She said, before glaring at her friends. "Despite what you guys believe, I do not sleep with my teachers to get high grades, I work hard for them."

Isabella, Lacretia and even Mary smiled indulgently at this.

Willow retaliated by sticking her tongue out, causing everyone else to laugh.

**A/N: Okay, another chapter up. This one is looking at the feelings that Sirius is experiencing. Ironically, his younger self is jealous of his older self and the closeness he seems to have with Willow.**

**Willow, however, seems insistent that she and Professor Century are friends, which, of course is the truth. However, the younger Sirius does experience a feeling of jealousy towards his older self, hence the irony.**

**Anyway, hope you liked the chapter and please, leave me a review.**

**Thanks,**

**Wacky Wizard **

**p.s Yes, I know, Sirius' outfit is the exact replica of the one Zac Efron wears in 17 again on his first day – second dress attempt – of school. I just love that movie and Zac Efron was my inspiration for that.**


	16. Halloween Ball

**Disclaimer: You should know by now.**

**Summary: **When Sirius fell through the veil, he didn't die, but was instead sent back in time, to be more precise, his last year of Hogwarts. Now the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor he finds himself disliking his younger self but drawn to a sixth year student by the name of Willow Briar. But nothing can happen between a student and a teacher, right? SBXOC

**A/N: Just a quick note to say thanks to everyone whos reviewed my story :) So glad you liked it... so far :). Oh and thanks for over 50 reviews! Means a lot :D Anyway... back to the story... enjoy!**

Chapter Fifteen – Halloween Ball

Tuesday arrived faster than they thought and while the Heads, Prefects and Professors walked down to the Quidditch pitch to decorate it, for it was decided, after much begging and pleading by James and several other Quidditch fanatic prefects, that the Halloween ball would be held there.

After much persisting and consultation with the other Professors, Dumbledore had agreed and so the Quidditch pitch was decorated to the hilt with pumpkin candles that floated in mid-air, a dance floor covered most of the Quidditch pitch while several tables lay out filled with a buffet of Halloween treats that the house-elves had cooked up.

Professor McGonagall had transfigured the Quaffle into a full moon and levitated it high into the air before Professor Flitwick charmed it so that it bathed the Quidditch pitch in an eerie glow. James, on the other hand, made a mental note to inform Remus on the fake full moon before he got down here and freaked.

Meanwhile, up in the sixth year Gryffindor girls dorms, Willow and her friends were getting ready. All four of them were rushing around, fixing their hair, doing their make-up and struggling to put on their costumes.

"Zip me up?" Isabella asked to which Mary complied, holding pins in her mouth.

"How do I look?" Lacretia asked twirling in the short, white toga with a green sash that was her Artemis outfit; she had a crossbow slung across her back.

"You look great," Willow said smiling at her before sticking a pin in the complicated twist that she had decided upon, before standing up and pulling her dress up. "There," she said, satisfied. "What do you think?"

She turned to face her friends who all nodded before making last minute adjustments to their own costumes.

Isabella straightened out one of the pink ruffles on her dress and curled one of her curls round her finger before letting it go, it bounced straight into place.

"Everyone ready?" she asked.

They nodded and huddled together as Mary charmed the camera.

"Cheese!" they all cried just as the camera clicked, taking a photo of them all.

Grinning at one another, they donned their cloaks and headed down towards the Quidditch pitch, anxious for the party to start.

Upon arriving at the Quidditch pitch, Willow was pleased to find that it was crowded, meaning no-one was paying much attention to her costume. Hanging her cloak on a peg, she headed through the crowd.

"Willow!"

Willow turned to see Lily Evans walking toward her looking gorgeous in a one shoulder, short, dark, green dress. Her red hair fell down her back and she had managed to charm some ivy vines to stay wrapped around her.

"What do you think?" she asked, doing a little twirl.

Willow smiled appreciatively.

"Poison Ivy." She said, nodding.

Lily nodded.

"I know she's a villain," she commented. "But she's my favourite."

"I can see why." Willow replied.

"Hey girls, wow, Lils, you look amazing."

Lily blushed at the comment that James gave her as he stared at her outfit.

"Hi James," Willow said with a smile. "Nice costume," she added gesturing to the Quidditch robes he was wearing. "Let me guess, Arnold McKinney?" she said, referring to the Tornadoes lead chaser.

James nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "Sirius wanted to come as Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker, whoever they are."

Both Lily and Willow grinned.

"There characters from the muggle film, Star Wars." Lily informed him. "Who's he come as instead?"

"Someone called Hans Solo," James told them. "He managed to get Peter to come as Chewbacca, whoever that is."

Both Lily and Willow burst into peals as laughter while James looked confused.

"Where are they?" Willow managed to ask, through her laughter.

James turned and pointed to where Sirius was stood by the refreshments table next to a disgruntled looking Peter who was wearing an extremely hairy costume that wasn't that far off a werewolf's costume. Sirius, who was stood beside him, was dressed in a pair of black, tight fitting trousers with a black belt slung over the top and a holster wrapped round the middle of his leg which appeared to contain a fake gun, a pair of black boots covered his feet while on top he wore a three-quarters sleeved shirt that revealed quite a bit of his chest, a black waistcoat was slung on top.

Willow grinned as she saw him and excusing herself from James and Lily's presence, she made her way towards them.

"Nice costume, Sirius, Peter." She said grinning at them.

Peter let out a noise that sounded as though he was disgusted while Sirius glared at him before turning to face Willow.

"Thank you," he said, grinning charmingly at her. "And I take it, this is your costume." He admired the dress and Willow felt a light blush cross her cheeks and was thankful for the dim lighting. "Professor Century was wrong," Sirius murmured. "You don't look beautiful, you look stunning." Willow blushed harder as Sirius looked her dead in the eye.

"Thanks." She stammered.

Sirius grinned before bowing low.

"Would you care to grace me with a dance, ma'am?" he asked.

Willow giggled at this before accepting the dance and allowing him to take her hand and lead her onto the dance floor.

* * *

Sirius stood on the edge of the dance floor, dressed impeccably in the tuxedo he had picked out on Saturday, with Isabella's help, and watched the dancing couples. He smiled as he watched Lily and James dance, seemingly oblivious of what was going around them as they stared into each other's eyes.

He watched them for several moments before allowing his eyes to drift across the dance floor.

A flash of blue caught his eye and he found himself staring at Willow who was laughing as her partner twirled her. Sirius glanced at her partner and blinked as he saw the Hans Solo costume they were wearing, before letting a grin cross his face as he realised it was him. He watched as his younger self said something to Willow that caused her to laugh harder and clutch at him as he led her around the dance floor. His younger self was grinning widely, his grey eyes sparkling as he looked down at the giggling woman in his arms.

As Sirius watched this, an idea struck him.

Just because he, at thirty-six couldn't be with Willow, didn't mean his younger self couldn't. After all, if he loved Willow as she was now, and then surely his younger self would? The only thing, of course, he thought as he watched them, would how to get them together without either one being suspicious?

Willow was a highly intelligent girl and would surely notice if she was being set up, as would his younger self.

He would have to think about this in more detail, he thought, as he watched the couple dance.

But it was definitely an idea to consider.

"Harry?"

Sirius turned to see Professor Sprout stood there; Sirius had to admit she looked very nice in the emerald green robes she was wearing.

"Pomona," he said, bowing low.

Professor Sprout giggled and Sirius bit on his lip to stop the grin that threatened to spread across his face at this.

"Would you like to dance?" Professor Sprout asked, her cheeks holding a rosy tint to them.

Sirius smiled, Professor Sprout had been one of his favourite teachers at school when he was younger.

"Of course, Pomona," he said, "I'd be absolutely delighted." And with that, he took her hand in his and walked her onto the dance floor just as a waltz began to play.

* * *

Sirius and Willow came off the dance floor laughing hard. They had just enjoyed a very enjoyable dance that had mostly consisted of laughter rather than dance.

"Here you go," Sirius said handing her a cup of pumpkin juice.

Willow took it with a thankful smile before taking a sip of it.

"Much better," she said, before turning to face the dancers.

Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open.

"What is it?" Sirius asked, following her gaze.

He too stared as he saw Professor Century dancing with Professor Sprout, as he watched; Professor Century twirled Professor Sprout out before bringing her back in and dipping her low. Professor Sprout giggled girlishly.

From beside him, Willow clamped a hand over her mouth, trying to stem the laughter that threatened to spill from her mouth.

"Sorry," she apologised as Sirius looked at her. "I just never imagined that that would happen." She let out a snort of laughter as she watched them dance.

"In a weird way, they make a cute couple." She commented before taking a sip of pumpkin juice, her eyes fixed on Professor Century and Professor Sprout.

Sirius just nodded and took a sip of his own drink as a guy Sirius vaguely recognised from the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, who was dressed up as a Vampire approached Willow.

"Want to dance?" he asked her.

Willow eyed him before shrugging.

"Why not," she said. "Save my drink, Sirius?"

Sirius nodded and took Willow's drink from her before she accepted the guy's hand and allowed him to leave her on the dance floor.

As Sirius watched her dance, he admired her dress. She looked very beautiful in it, the blue complimented her eyes making them stand out while the complicated knot that she had twisted her hair back into highlighted the her natural features making her look beautiful than usual.

He watched as she danced with the Ravenclaw guy and smiled before heading over to the refreshments table to stuff some food in his mouth. Moments later, Professor Century joined him.

"Nice dancing, Professor." Sirius said with a grin.

Professor Century smiled.

"Thank you, Mr Black." He said, "Nice footwork yourself."

Sirius' grin widened and he turned to see Willow walking towards them, holding her gown up slightly.

"Enjoy your dance, Willow?" he asked, handing her a butterbeer.

To his surprise, Willow shook her head, looking disgruntled.

"No, he kept stepping on my feet."

Both Sirius and Professor Century burst out laughing causing Willow to scowl at the both of them.

"Glad I amuse you so much," she snapped and made to stalk away but Sirius grabbed her arm, stopping her.

"Come on, Willow," he said giving her his most charming grin. "It was just a joke."

Willow sighed.

"I know," she said, "I guess I'm just the joke of the night. I didn't want to wear this dress, it makes me look stupid, I have no dancing ability, what so ever and this whole ball thing sucks."

Sirius stared at her surprised.

"Willow," he said, taking her hand. "You look absolutely stunning."

Willow sighed.

"You're just saying that because you're my friend," she said. "Just like Professor Century said I looked beautiful because he's my teacher."

Sirius sighed deeply.

"Willow," he said, stooping down to look in her eyes. "I maybe your friend, but I would never tell you that you looked great if you didn't."

Willow looked at him and a true smile crossed her face, tears in her eyes.

"You really think I look stunning?"

Sirius nodded.

"As for the dancing, you danced beautifully with me out there," he gestured to the dance floor. "You just lack confidence, Willow," he said. "But you have no reason too."

Willow sniffed and threw her arms around Sirius, hugging him. Sirius returned it.

Sirius watched as his younger self hugged Willow and smiled. Maybe he didn't need to intervene at all.

**A/N: Okay, so the chapter started off okay, but I don't know if it finished well :s. I wanted to convey the fact that Sirius and Willow had a strong relationship and that the older Sirius recognised the fact. I also wanted to show a slightly more vulnerable side to Willow.**

**Hope you enjoyed it and let me know what you think.**

**Wacky Wizard **


	17. The Maze

**Disclaimer: You should know by now.**

**Summary: **When Sirius fell through the veil, he didn't die, but was instead sent back in time, to be more precise, his last year of Hogwarts. Now the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor he finds himself disliking his younger self but drawn to a sixth year student by the name of Willow Briar. But nothing can happen between a student and a teacher, right? SBXOC

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to update been really busy with all my work, but hopefully, it will all be worth it. Enjoy the chapter and don't forget to leave a review at the end!**

Chapter Sixteen – The Maze

The day after the Halloween ball Sirius woke up early, excited. He couldn't believe how close his younger self and Willow had got. It probably had happened after the lake incident, but Sirius had been too wrapped up in his own problem – being unable to return to his own time – to notice. But now, well now he could practically skip with joy.

In all fairness, Sirius had never been this happy in all his life.

He had been bought up in a dark and dangerous house where pure blood ruled supreme and then he had attended Hogwarts where he had met James, Remus and Peter and they had showed him how to love, how to care and how to accept people on who they were, not their blood type.

And Willow, sure Sirius had an emotional relationship with his friends, he loved every single one of them, but Willow, she was different. She wasn't attracted to him because he was handsome, she was attracted to him because of who he was inside and she was his friend because of that, and Sirius, hoped, someday soon, that she would be more than just friends with him.

When he arrived for his first lesson of the day – which just happened to be his seventh years – he was grinning from ear to ear. He didn't even notice the wary faces of his students as he waved them inside.

"Good morning, class." He said, sitting atop his desk. "Books away, please. I think we should go on a field trip this morning."

The class began to murmur in surprise and excitement.

"Shall we?" Sirius asked, sliding of his desk and rubbing his hands together in glee.

The class nodded and followed him out of the classroom and through the castle towards the grounds and into the Quidditch pitch where a small group was waiting for them, Professor Flitwick stood at the front beaming.

"Everyone gather round," Sirius said as he moved towards the stand, Professor Flitwick joined him as the students crowded together. "As you can see, we have been joined by Professor Flitwick's sixth year charms class," he indicated to the sixth years, "the reason they have joined us is because I have decided to hold a little competition," another murmur rippled through the crowd. "You will be split into two teams, a mixture of seventh and sixth years. The team captains will be the Head Boy and Girl," he indicated to James and Lily who stepped forwards. "Miss Evans, if you would pick first."

"Sirius." Lily said quickly, pointing at his younger self who grinned lazily and stepped forwards.

"Fine," James said. "Then I pick Remus."

Remus stepped forwards and gave James a high-five while Lily's face fell; it was commonly known that Remus excelled in Defence against the dark arts.

"Willow Briar," Lily said.

Willow stepped forwards to whooping and cheering from her fellow sixth year Gryffindors.

"Prepare to loose Potter!" a voice called from the crowd sending a wave of laughter through the crowd.

James, on the other hand, looked unbothered.

"Snape." He said calmly causing Lily, Remus and both the Sirius' to stare at him.

Snape stepped apprehensively forwards, eyeing James with discontempt. James gave him a friendly smile before turning to face Lily.

"You're going down." He told her.

Lily's face twisted into one of determination and she turned back to the crowd, picking a Slytherin in retaliation to James' choice of Snape. While James calmly picked his team, Lily was listening to advice from both Willow and Sirius of who to pick.

All of Willow's friends ended up on her team and greeted each other warmly. Sirius was the only seventh year Gryffindor boy on Lily's team and James appeared to have mostly Slytherins on his team.

"Well," Sirius said stepping forwards and eyeing the two teams. "I believe Professor Flitwick has set up the course."

Professor Flitwick nodded and twirled his wand, they all stepped back as a massive maze rose from the Quidditch pitch, two entrances there.

"Now, before you enter," Sirius said, "A few rules. Rule one, no illegal hexes or curses are to be used, this will immediately disqualify your team. Rule two, if you get into any trouble at all, please send red sparks into the air, either Professor Flitwick or I will come in and get you, and Rule number three, whoever gets the trophy first wins. GO!"

On his words, the two teams ran into the maze which closed behind them, swallowing them up.

Sirius turned to face Professor Flitwick.

"I guess we wait." He said.

* * *

Lily stood in the maze, her team surrounding her. She turned to face them.

"Right," she said. "You heard Professor Century, whoever gets to the trophy wins. We are going to be that team. I want everyone to split into two's, if you find the trophy send up green sparks to let the rest of us know."

Her team nodded and she reached forwards and grabbed Willow's hand.

"Willow, you're with me, the rest of you sort yourselves out."

The team split themselves into pairs, Sirius pairing with a seventh year Hufflepuff he knew.

"Ready?" Lily asked.

Her team nodded.

"Good luck," Lily whispered before turning and darting off down one lane, Willow hot on her heels.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the maze, James was addressing his troops.

"Split into pairs," he told them. "It'll be quicker and easier that way, try and avoid detection if you can and if the other teams spots you, defend yourselves, but be careful. If I know Lily, which I do, she'll want her team to win as much as I want us to win." His team murmured in agreement, Lily was famous for her competitiveness. "When you reach the trophy send up green sparks to let us know." His team nodded and James smiled before inclining for Remus to follow him as he dove further into the maze.

His team was going to win.

Further in the maze Lily and Willow ran, their wands beside them as they twisted and turned through the maze.

"You don't really care for loosing, do you?" Willow commented lightly.

In front of her, Lily shook her head.

"Losing is not an option," she said. "I'm rather a competitive person, and while I can accept losing graciously to an adversary foe, I will not let James win."

Willow smiled.

"I don't think Sirius is too keen on that idea either." She muttered as Lily ducked round a corner.

"Sh!" she whispered when Willow followed after her.

Willow stood still and listened, she could hear running footsteps from the other side of the bush.

Lily slowly snuck forwards and peered round the edge only to duck her head back round in an instance.

"Opposition," she mouthed.

Willow nodded and raised her wand.

"On the count of three. One… two… three!"

Both of them burst round the corner sending stunners at their competition who fell back, stunned. Releasing red sparks over their bodies for Professor Flitwick and Century to find them, Lily and Willow carried on.

* * *

"There's the first red spark." Professor Flitwick squeaked from beside Sirius.

Sirius glanced up to see a shower of red sparks in the air.

"Well," he said, "let's go and get them."

Professor Flitwick nodded and pointed his wand at the maze which bowed down to allow them entry.

When they reached the place where the red sparks hovered it was to find two stunned students. Shaking his head in amusement, Sirius quickly reversed the spell before he and Professor Flitwick showed them the way out.

"Better luck next time." He told them.

"Looks like we're needed again." Professor Flitwick told him, causing Sirius to turn for the second lot of red sparks that had risen over head.

* * *

James looked at the bodies he and Remus had just stunned.

"Two down, several more to go." He told Remus, who nodded.

With a backwards glance at the bodies, James and Remus delved further into the maze.

"I wonder how the others are doing." Remus muttered as he kept his wand ahead of him.

"Pretty well, I reckon." James said. "We picked a good team; whoever Snape's with will be safe. I may not like the guy, but he is rather good at defence."

Remus nodded in agreement before looking round the corner.

"Coast is clear." He muttered.

James nodded and continued to follow him, confident that they were going to win.

Meanwhile, outside the maze, the amount of students who had been removed was piling up.

"I believe we have a mere eight students left," Professor Flitwick commented, having counted. "I believe Miss Evans and Miss Briar are still in there, as are Mr Potter and Mr Lupin, Mr Black and Mr Higgins, and Mr Snape and Mr Avery."

Sirius nodded and turned to face the maze.

"Not long until we find a winner, now." He murmured.

Back in the maze Lily and Willow were sweating and panting.

"How big is this maze?" Lily asked, pausing to catch her breath.

Willow shrugged, bent over and breathing heavily.

Lily groaned before she heard a rustling causing her head to snap up. Willow too stilled in her movements. Together they raised their wands and jumped at their opponents.

"Stupefy!" they cried together.

"Protego!" came the reply. "It's only us, Lily."

Both Lily and Willow lowered their wands, relieved.

"Sorry, Sirius," Lily replied leaning against a bush.

Sirius waved her apology away.

"I take it you have no luck either." He commented.

Both Lily and Willow shook their heads.

"But now that we've found each other, I suggest we stick together." Willow suggested.

Lily, Sirius and the Hufflepuff nodded in agreement before running through the maze once more.

"I see a clearing ahead!" Lily cried as she spotted the gap.

"The trophy!" Willow cried, pointing at a small silver trophy that was situated in the maze.

"I'll get it!" Sirius called and pushed forwards, his powerful legs striding past Willow and Lily and into the clearing.

They watched as he skidded to a halt before bending down to scoop the trophy up.

"Sectumserpa!"

Lily let out a gasp of horror as Sirius' body jerked and deep slashes appeared in his skin.

"Sirius!" Willow yelled from beside her as Sirius' crumpled to the ground, oozing blood.

* * *

James panted as he ran through the maze; curse Professor Flitwick and Century for making the maze so long.

"Look, James!"

James' head snapped up and he looked to where Remus was pointing and grinned. The small silver trophy stood gleaming in the middle of the clearing. He made to run forwards just as Sirius burst into the clearing and scooped the trophy up with a triumphant grin.

James shook his head and slowed down, accepting defeat.

"Sectumserpa!"

James' eyes widened in horror as Sirius' body jerked as he was slashed open, a look of disbelief on his face, before he crumpled to the floor.

"SIRIUS!" James yelled breaking into a sprint, Remus hot on his heels. He broke into the clearing just before Willow, Lily and a seventh year Hufflepuff following them.

Reaching Sirius, James collapsed next to him, pulling of his robe and attempting to stem the flow of blood oozing from the wounds, Lily and the Hufflepuff guy joined him while Remus sent red sparks into the air.

"You!"

James glanced up to see Willow glaring hard, her wand pointed towards two figures. Glancing round her, James saw Avery stood there, a triumphant smirk on his face, Snape stood behind him, looking slightly horrified at what he had just witnessed.

"Serves the blood traitor right." Avery spat.

James had never seen anyone move so fast. With a flick of her wrist, Willow sent Avery flying into the air; he landed hard against the bush.

"Why you filthy Mudblood!" he spat, clambering to his feet, and drawing his wand.

Willow's eyes narrowed and she slashed her wand through the air causing Avery to erect a shield charm, but Willow's curse was so powerful that he stumbled back from the force of it.

"You want to test me, Avery?" she asked, her eyes flashing.

"What happened?"

James turned to see that Professor Century and Flitwick had arrived, the other students behind them.

"Avery cursed Sirius," Lily replied. "He's losing blood, a lot of it. He'll never make it to the castle alive."

Professor Flitwick gasped while Professor Century just stared at the motionless body of Sirius.

"He can fix him,"

They all turned to face Willow, she was pointing towards Snape who had been stood back away from Sirius, and away from the fight Avery had ended up in.

"Is that true?" Professor Century asked hoarsely.

"I can stop the blood flow, but only temporarily." Snape murmured.

"That'll be fine." Professor Century said.

Snape nodded and moved forwards, bending down next to Sirius, he waved his wand over Sirius' body and they watched as it began to mend as though sewing itself up. Once he was done, Professor Flitwick conjured a stretcher and James, with the help of Remus gingerly lifted Sirius onto it.

"Back to the castle now," Professor Century ordered. "You Avery," he said, pointing to Avery, "Headmaster's office."

**A/N: Hehe let me know what you think, reviews are of course appreciated.**

**Thanks, Wacky Wizard**


	18. Hospital Wing

**Disclaimer: You should know by now.**

**Summary: **When Sirius fell through the veil, he didn't die, but was instead sent back in time, to be more precise, his last year of Hogwarts. Now the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor he finds himself disliking his younger self but drawn to a sixth year student by the name of Willow Briar. But nothing can happen between a student and a teacher, right? SBXOC

Chapter Seventeen – Hospital Wing

The Hospital Wing was mostly empty except for the five occupants that surrounded the bed where a tall, handsome guy lay, stained with blood.

James sat on Sirius' right, clasping his brother and best friends' hand in his, tears stained his face while beside him Lily stood, her hands on his shoulders and she too had tears streaks on her face. Remus and Peter sat by the foot of Sirius' bed worried for their friend while Willow sat the other side of Sirius, her face pale and tear streaked and her clasped tightly in the one James was not holding.

The Hospital Wing doors opened and Professor Dumbledore entered followed by a tall, dark haired man, his glasses perched lopsidedly on his nose while a pale faced, auburn haired woman walked with him, her hazel eyes filled with tears.

"Mum, Dad." James said hoarsely as he spotted them.

Mrs Potter let out a sob and embraced her son, holding him tightly while Mr Potter looked at Sirius on the bed with a grimace before turning to face Dumbledore.

"Are you sure he'll be alright, Albus?" he asked.

"I assure you, Charlus," Dumbledore said quietly, "Sirius will be alright, if it was not for Mr Snape, we may be looking at a different story."

Charlus Potter nodded before placing a comforting hand on his wife's shoulder who was sat on the bed, tears spilling down her cheeks.

"He'll be fine, Dorea," he said. "He's a tough one, our Sirius."

Dorea Potter nodded and moped at her eyes with a handkerchief that she pulled from her robe pocket.

"We'll leave you too it," Remus said gently. "It was nice to see you, Mr and Mrs Potter."

"Thanks Remus, Peter." Charlus Potter said nodding as Remus and Peter left the common room.

"I'll see you later, James," Lily said softly, brushing a kiss against his cheek. "You coming Willow?"

Willow shook her head, her eyes focused on Sirius.

"I want to be here when he wakes up." She muttered.

Lily nodded in understanding and with a fleeting glance at James she left the Hospital Wing leaving James, his parents, Willow and Professor Dumbledore alone with Sirius.

"Miss Briar," Dumbledore said walking round to where Willow was sat and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Perhaps it would be best if you went with Miss Evans, I assure you that Madam Pomfrey will alert you the minute Mr Black awakes."

Willow shook her head fiercely.

"No," she muttered, "I want to be here." Tears spilled down her cheeks and Dumbledore nodded in understanding.

"Of course, Miss Briar." He glanced at James and his parents. "I'll leave you with him."

"Thank you, Albus, for everything." Charlus Potter said, offering his hand.

Dumbledore took it with a firm shake before leaving the Hospital Wing.

* * *

Sirius sat in his office, a glass of Firewhiskey before him, a bottle next to it. He was trying to block the memory of seeing his younger self covered in blood from his mind, but it was harder than he expected, every time he closed his eyes, it was the only thing he saw.

A knock on the door awoke him from his nightmare and he called for that person to enter. The door opened and Dumbledore stepped through.

"I just wanted to see how you were coping." He said softly.

Sirius grimaced.

"As well as can be." He said. "It's not every day you see yourself hanging in the balance."

Dumbledore smiled slightly.

"At least we know you live, otherwise I don't think you'd be here if you didn't." he informed Sirius.

"I thought of that," Sirius countered. "Still, it is a bit of a shock."

Dumbledore nodded in agreement.

"Charlus and Dorea Potter are currently visiting you, at the moment." He said. "You remember James' parents?"

Sirius nodded. How could he ever forget the people who had taken him in, the people who treated him like a son, who acted as better parents than his biological parents ever had, or could be?

"I think it'd be nice for you to see them," he said. "Reassure them that your younger self will be fine. I also think that both James and Willow could use the reassurance, Willow's lost a lot already, I think she'd break if she lost someone else." He added at Sirius' confused expression.

Sirius sighed and leaned back in his chair, running his fingers through his hair.

"I'll do my best, Professor." He said. "It's been a long time since I saw the Potters."

Dumbledore smiled.

"I daresay it has," he said. "Good day, Sirius."

Sirius nodded and watched as Professor Dumbledore left the room before taking a swig of his Firewhiskey, after all, he was going to need it if he was going to visit a bunch of people, most of whom were dead where he came from.

* * *

Willow sat in the Hospital Wing, still holding Sirius' hand. James was sat with his parents across from her; all of them were waiting for Sirius to wake up.

The Hospital Wing doors opened and the Potters all turned to see who it was, but Willow didn't bother. She was staring at Sirius, but not really seeing.

"Willow," a voice said just as a hand touched her shoulder.

Willow glanced up to see Professor Century crouched before her, a look of deep sympathy on his face.

Unable to take it anymore, tears spilling over her face, Willow flung her arms around him, sobbing into his shoulder. Professor Century took it in his stride, his arms wrapped round her and he began rubbing soothing patterns on her back with his hands.

"Sh," he crooned, "It's alright; everything is going to be alright."

He pulled back and looked at her.

"I promise Willow," he said, looking her dead in the eye. "Sirius will be fine," he turned to face the Potters. "I promise that to all of you."

"How do you know?"

It was Mrs Potter who had spoken, she had a slight light of hope on her face and Willow saw Professor Century's face soften even more when he saw her.

"I talked to Dumbledore, he told me that Sirius would be fine, and," he glanced at James. "That we should all be thankful to Mr Snape for stitching him up."

James nodded.

"I may not like, Snape," he whispered. "But I guess we owe him." He looked back at Sirius who was still unconscious.

"So Sirius will live?" Willow asked, glancing at her Professor, he nodded and Willow turned back to Sirius. "You hear that," she murmured, squeezing his hand. "You're going to be okay."

To her surprise, and delight, Sirius squeezed back.

Staring stunned at her hand, Willow felt him shift and her eyes snapped back up to his face, he was stirring now and it appeared Mrs Potter had noticed as well, for she bit her lip in anticipation.

"Sirius?" she asked weakly.

Sirius groaned in reply, his eyelids fluttering.

"He's waking up!" Mrs Potter cried. "Charlus, he's waking up!" she grasped her husband's robe, holding onto them as Sirius' eyelids continued to flutter and he shifted.

And, suddenly, Willow couldn't bear to be there, not right at that moment. Releasing his hand from hers, she leapt out of her chair and ran towards the exit ignoring James' surprised cry. She heard footsteps behind her and pushed harder, breaking into a full sprint before ducking round a corner and hiding behind a tapestry.

Slumping against the hard, cold stone, she felt tears fall down her face and began sobbing. Big gulping breaths escaped her mouth and she buried her face in her knees, her whole body shaking as she cried.

Arms wrapped round her, pulling her in and Willow found herself grasping onto a chest, her face buried in that person's shirt.

"It's okay," Professor Century's voice rumbled through her whole body. "It's okay."

Willow pulled back gasping as she began to wipe her eyes.

"Sorry," she muttered, not looking at her Professor.

"It's okay," Professor Century said softly before shifting so that he was now sat more comfortably next to her. "Why don't you tell me what's wrong?"

Willow chewed her lip, unsure of where to start, and then, without warning, the words tumbled from her mouth, and, like verbal diarrhoea, she was unable to control herself.

"It was just too much," she said. "I couldn't bear to see him like that, to see him so weak, so vulnerable, and when he woke, I just didn't want to face the truth, I didn't want to control my emotions but I didn't want him to see me cry. He's arrogant, egotistic and a pain in the bum, but he's also smart, caring, sensitive and a good friend to have, and I love him! I'm in love with him!" she buried her face in her hands and sobbed harder than before.

Sirius sat there stunned, unable to believe what he had just heard.

Willow had just admitted that she loved him. Not just as a friend, but that she was actually in love with him. Sure, she found him arrogant, egotistic and a pain in the bum which – he would happily admit – he was, but she also saw him as smart, caring, sensitive and a good friend to have – also true, look at what he had done for Remus – and she loved him, despite his faults.

However, he soon came down from his high at Willow having proclaimed her love for him, with the big, raking sobs she was letting out now.

"Willow," he said gently, amazed that he had a voice. "It's okay for you to feel these emotions just as its okay for you to love Sirius, but, don't you think you should tell him?"

Willow looked at him, her beautiful face stained with tears.

"I can't," she said hoarsely.

"And why not?" Sirius asked, more harshly then he intended.

"He'll laugh at me," Willow whispered. "He'll think I'm joking and then he'll realise I'm not and things will be awkward, things are always awkward."

Sirius sighed and pushed his hair of his face.

"Willow," he said sternly. "You need to tell Sirius. At this moment in time, there is a confused guy in the Hospital Wing wondering where you are, asking for you, and you are hiding, behind a tapestry, crying because you think he might reject you." He reached forwards and tipped her chin up so that he could see into her eyes. "You never know if you don't try, Willow," he said. "So go and try."

Willow stared at him before blinking slowly.

"I've got to go." She muttered, standing up abruptly. She stalked towards the tapestry before pausing and turning to face him. "Thanks, Professor." She whispered.

Sirius smiled.

"Happy to help." He replied.

* * *

Sirius sat alone in the Hospital Wing, Mr and Mrs Potter had gone to speak to the Headmaster and James had gone to inform the others that he had awoken and was fine. Staring at the ceiling, Sirius felt slightly put out. He had woken just in time to see Willow flee from the scene before Professor Century had gone after her. He wanted to know why Willow had abandoned him and felt slightly lonely without her company.

Remembering the feel of her hand on his, he smiled to himself. She had warm, pleasant feel about her skin and he could smell the faint hint of vanilla due to his advanced scenes as a dog.

Sighing, he slumped into his bed, his arms folded as he thought moodily about Willow and how she had abandoned him. Getting annoyed at the memory, he wished that Mr and Mrs Potter would return soon, or even James with his friends. Even seeing Snape would be better than being alone, although he supposed, after thought, he owed Snape his life, something he was sure Snape would lord over him forever – greasy, haired git.

The hospital wing doors opened and Sirius turned to see Willow sidle through the door, shutting it quietly behind her.

He grinned and sat up straighter.

"Where have you been?" he asked as she walked towards him, before frowning as he noticed her tear stained face. "What's the matter, is every-"

He was cut off as, without a word, Willow leaned down and captured his lips with her own, effectively silencing him.

**A/N: End of a chapter – Hehe! **

**Hope you liked it.**

**Leave a review if you want to know what happens.**

**Until next chapter,**

**Wacky Wizard **


	19. Last resort

**Disclaimer: You should know by now.**

**Summary: **When Sirius fell through the veil, he didn't die, but was instead sent back in time, to be more precise, his last year of Hogwarts. Now the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor he finds himself disliking his younger self but drawn to a sixth year student by the name of Willow Briar. But nothing can happen between a student and a teacher, right? SBXOC

** A/N: Okay, first of all, apologies for not updating sooner, have had rather a lot going on but so far so good. Second of all, thanks for all the reviews I have recieved, it's great to know that people really like this story even thought I'm only eighteen chapters into it, so thanks :) And last but not least, here's the chapter... enjoy!**

Chapter Eighteen – Last resort

_Previously…_

_The hospital wing doors opened and Sirius turned to see Willow sidle through the door, shutting it quietly behind her._

_He grinned and sat up straighter._

"_Where have you been?" he asked as she walked towards him, before frowning as he noticed her tear stained face. "What's the matter, is every-"_

_He was cut off as, without a word, Willow leaned down and captured his lips with her own, effectively silencing him._

It had been nearly a week since Sirius was released from the Hospital Wing and he hadn't spoken to Willow since the kiss. He had been shocked – but pleasantly surprised – when she kissed him, and had been about to kiss back when the Hospital Wing doors had opened, causing her to pull back just as Mr and Mrs Potter had entered, figuring that they had wanted to speak to Sirius alone, she had left leaving behind a very stunned – and semi-aroused – Sirius.

He had tried speaking to her at meal times but she was always surrounded by her friends and by the time he managed to get away from his friends she was gone. He had then waited in the common room, but she no longer hung out there.

Finally, after five days, Sirius decided that something had to be done and hiding inside a broom closet on the fourth floor that he knew she had to walk past to get to her next lesson from Charms, he waited – a small crack in the door – until she came past, and then, he struck.

Snapping his arms out, he grabbed her around the waist with one, while the other slid over her mouth, stopping her scream as he dragged her into the broom closet. He managed to close the door when she bit him, causing him to cry out in pain and withdraw his hand from her.

"What the fuck!" he cried, inspecting his hand.

"Sirius?" her voice sounded surprised.

"Yes of course," Sirius snapped. "What did you bite me for?"

"You put your hand over my mouth and dragged me into a broom closet." She replied, sounding annoyed. "What did you expect?"

Sirius just glared at her in the dark and she rolled her eyes.

"I've got to go, I have a lesson to get too." She moved towards the door, but Sirius was quicker, wordlessly he pointed his wand at the door and the lock clicked in place.

Willow turned to face him and raised an eyebrow causing him to smirk, before she pulled out her wand and pointed it at the door, nothing happened.

"It won't release us until I allow it to," Sirius told her, folding his arms. "And unless you care to explain why you're avoiding me, it's going to stay locked for a long time."

Across from him, Willow sighed.

"I'm not avoiding you," she said, running a hand through her hair. "I'm just-"

"Avoiding you?" Sirius supplied.

Willow sighed again.

"I'm busy," she said. "I have things to do."

"Uh-Hu," Sirius said, disbelievingly. "Well, we still need to talk, about what happened."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Willow said, folding her arms.

Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"Really?" he asked. "Then, perhaps, I should refresh your memory," and in one, swift movement, he had crossed the small gap between them and pressed his lips to her.

Her response was immediate.

Her arms wrapped round his neck, pulling him closer. Her lips parted under his allowing him to dip his tongue into her mouth, electing a moan from her lips, and then, just as suddenly as it started, it stopped.

Sirius stared at Willow who had pulled out and was looking at her feet, blushing furiously; he smirked as he saw this and pulled her head up with his finger.

"Why are you embarrassed?" he asked, softly.

Willow chewed her lip, a habit, Sirius noticed, she did when she was nervous.

"I like you, Sirius," she blurted out. "I like you, a lot."

Sirius grinned.

"I noticed." He said.

Willow shook her head.

"I don't just mean as friends Sirius," she said, tucking a strand of loose hair behind her ear. "I want to be more than friends; I want us to be something."

Sirius let out a deep chuckle causing Willow to glare at him.

"If you think that me saying this is so funny," she snapped. "Then maybe you should just fu-"

Sirius lowered his lips to hers, effectively silencing the swear word that was about to escape her lips.

"I want us to be something too, Willow." He murmured, resting his forehead against hers. "I don't know why, but you've got me under your spell, caught in your trap, however you want to put it, I want to be with you, have done for a while." He fiddled with a curl of her hair. "You entice me Willow Briar," he murmured, looking into her eyes. "And I want to know you, all of you."

"And when you know me?" Willow asked, her voice barely a whisper.

Sirius grinned.

"I want to continue spending every moment with you."

Willow grinned, the grin reaching her eyes.

"That's good enough for me." She murmured before pulling him down for another kiss.

Sirius complied instantly.

* * *

Isabella sat in Defence against the dark arts, impatiently tapping her foot. They had only been in the lesson for ten minutes, but Willow had not showed up and Isabella was slightly worried for her friend.

The door to the classroom opened and the whole class turned to see Willow walk in.

Isabella couldn't help but stare.

Her hair was a mess and her shirt was un-tucked from her skirt. She watched as Willow coughed embarrassedly and ran a hand through her tangle of curls.

"Sorry I'm late, Professor." She said, smiling meekly. "Something came up."

To her surprise, Professor Century just smiled.

"Take a seat, Miss Briar. You will stay after class to discuss what shall happen."

Willow nodded and headed towards the spare seat next to Isabella. She took her book out and flipped it over to the correct page number as Professor Century continued his lecture.

_What happened to you?_ _IM_

_I'll tell you later – WB_

_Tell me now – IM_

_Fine – Sirius and I kissed –WB_

_What? When? IM_

_Five minutes ago, he grabbed me after charms – WB_

_And? IM_

_And, what? – WB_

_Was it good? Did you enjoy it? Did he feel you up? IM_

_Yes, yes and maybe – WB_

_OMG! IM_

_It was the best snog I've ever had – WB_

_I can tell, you look a wreck btw IM_

_Don't care. I'm soooo happy - WB_

_I'm glad – oh, and btw, told you so! IM_

She watched as Willow smiled in amusement before leaning towards her.

"Guess you did." She murmured before returning to her work.

Isabella watched her friends and smiled. She really hoped it worked out for Sirius and Willow, after all, she had never seen her friends this happy, ever.

* * *

The class trailed out of the classroom leaving Sirius alone with Willow, who approached his desk, chewing her lip.

"I'm really sorry, Professor," she apologised. "Trust me, it wasn't intentional lateness. I just," she blushed, embarrassed. "Got side tracked."

"I noticed," Sirius said, folding his arms and leaning back in his chair. "I take it things went well with Mr Black?"

Willow nodded, her face heating up even more and Sirius grinned happily to himself.

"In light of recent events," he said, "I will let you off this time with a warning, and I suggest you tell Mr Black not to delay you the next time."

Willow nodded.

"Thanks, Professor," she said, grinning at him. "For everything."

Sirius smiled.

"It's no problem, Willow," he said. "Enjoy yourself but spare me the public displays of affection."

Willow laughed at this causing Sirius' grin to widen before, with a small wave, she slipped out of the classroom leaving Sirius to congratulate himself.

Finally, something seemed right in the world.

* * *

Willow exited the classroom, extremely happy.

"What are you smiling about?"

Willow turned to see Sirius leaning casually against the door, a grin on his handsome face. Seeing him caused her to smile.

"Hey," she murmured, walking towards him. "What are you doing here?" she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Sirius' grin widened.

"I thought it'd be polite to wait for my girlfriend after class," he explained. "Lily seems to like it when James does it for her."

Willow's smile widened.

"I'm your girlfriend?" she asked.

Sirius nodded.

"Of course, I'm not usually a kiss and leave guy, I tend to like to see my relationships through."

Willow laughed.

"What relationships?" she teased.

"Alright, this relationship," Sirius amended, looking down at her and cupping her face in his hands.

Willow smiled and reached up to place a gentle kiss on his lips. Sirius, however, had other ideas and deepened it.

Willow was just getting into it when a pointed cough broke them apart. Turning she blushed as she found Professor Century stood behind them, an eyebrow raised.

"I believe I asked you to spare me the public display of affection, Miss Briar." He said sternly, ruined slightly by his smile.

"Sorry," Willow smiled. "Won't happen again."

Professor Century nodded before turning and heading towards the Great Hall for dinner.

Willow watched him go before turning back to Sirius, who looked at her, an eyebrow raised.

"He wanted to know how we were," she said. "After all, you did make me late for class."

Sirius shrugged, unbothered before taking her hand and walking down the corridor.

"How did he know about us anyway?" he asked.

Willow smiled.

"He was the one who persuaded me to kiss you in the first place, although he said I should talk to you about my feelings, not actually kiss you, but you get the gist." She told him.

Sirius nodded, looking stunned.

"Wow," he said. "He is possibly the coolest teacher, ever."

Willow laughed and released her hand from his, instead wrapping it around his waist.

"Don't tell him that," she said. "His head will swell and then it'll be bigger than yours." She teased.

Sirius looked down at her, an eyebrow raised.

"Are you making fun of me?" he asked.

Willow grinned cheekily back.

"Of course," she said. "What did you expect?"

Sirius grinned.

"Not this," he admitted before leaning down and kissing her again.

And, as they found a more private place, Willow had to admit he was right. Whatever it was that she had expected out of life, it wasn't this.

Maybe, she thought, life was an unexpected event; something you couldn't predict for it was constantly changing. But, for this moment, right here, she was happy.

**A/N: And yes, Sirius and Willow are together. I have to say that this, by far, is my favourite chapter, so, if you don't review I have to say I will be very sad , so, please review!**

**Thanks for reading**

**Wacky Wizard **


	20. The store again

**Disclaimer: You should know by now.**

**Summary: **When Sirius fell through the veil, he didn't die, but was instead sent back in time, to be more precise, his last year of Hogwarts. Now the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor he finds himself disliking his younger self but drawn to a sixth year student by the name of Willow Briar. But nothing can happen between a student and a teacher, right? SBXOC

**A/N: Sorry it's been so long... been on holiday :) anyway, to make it up to you will publish two chapters. So, enjoy!**

Chapter Nineteen – The store again

It wasn't long before Sirius and Willow's relationship was the talk of the school. It seemed everyone had an opinion on it. Many girls – mainly those who fancied Sirius themselves – felt it a scam, but the others – like her friends – congratulated her on tying down the infamous, single marauder.

"You know," Willow mused as they sat in the common room, Sirius' head in her lap, "I don't know what they're more surprised about, the fact that Lily said yes to James," She gestured to the couple who were doing homework together, "or the fact that we're going out."

From her lap, Sirius shrugged, his eyes closed as Willow played with his hair.

"Personally," he said, "I don't care. There's worse things out in the world, such as Voldemort and his ever growing army that should be discussed, not who's going out with who."

Willow smiled down at him.

"You're right, of course," she told him, "But I still think that our relationship is a lighter and more carefree topic than that of Voldemort and his every growing army, as you so put it."

Again, Sirius shrugged before sitting up.

"I want to fight." He said.

"Excuse me?" Lily asked, her head snapping up from her homework, her eyes narrowed.

Sirius rolled his eyes at her.

"I don't want to pick a fight," he said. "I want to fight Voldemort, join the resistance."

"Oh," Lily said before biting her lip and glancing at James who was looking at Sirius.

"I hear you," James said. "I wouldn't mind doing something to fight Voldemort. He shouldn't get away with it, and if Dumbledore can stand up to him, I don't see why the rest of us can't."

Lily looked at him like he was crazy.

"Probably because we'd get killed?" she questioned her eyes wide. "Honestly, James, going against you-know-who is the stupidest idea I've ever heard off."

"Why is it?" James asked, eyeing her. "Dumbledore does it."

"That's because Dumbledore's a powerful wizard!" Lily cried. "He defeated Grindelwald and you-know-who's not stupid enough to try and go against him!" she looked round at Willow. "You agree with me, right?"

Willow shook her head.

"Sorry, Lils," she said. "But if there is a group out there to stop Voldemort, I'm going to join it." She looked at Sirius who was looking at her with a distinct look of pride. "It's not right what he's doing, and if he can be stopped, then I don't see why we shouldn't."

Across from her, Lily sighed, deeply.

"Fine," she said resignedly. "Seeing as you all seem so content to kill yourselves, but," she added as James grinned. "Don't come crying to me when you do die, because all I'll have to say is I told you so."

James laughed and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her forehead.

"You worry too much, Lils," he told her. "We've still got at least at least seven months of school left before we join the real world, and, hopefully, by that point, we'll have learnt everything we need to know in order to do battle."

Lily still looked unconvinced, but the topic of Voldemort was dropped and turned instead towards Christmas which was fast approaching.

"Are you staying at Hogwarts?" Sirius asked looking at Willow.

Willow shook her head.

"No," she told him. "I'm spending it with my Dad; he gets a bit lonely this time of year."

Sirius nodded in understanding, but looked slightly crestfallen.

Willow smiled.

"But don't worry," she said. "I'm coming back to Hogwarts before the new year, so we get to spend the first day of the New Year together."

Sirius nodded, looking slightly happier than before.

"Speaking of Christmas," Lily said, glancing at them. "What do you want for Christmas, Willow? You're the only person I haven't got a present for."

All three of them stared at her.

"What?" she asked, slightly defensively.

"You've Christmas shopped already?" Sirius asked, in disbelief. "But it's only the middle of November!"

"Exactly," Lily retorted. "We've only got one Hogsmeade weekend before we break up for the holidays." She gestured to the notice board where the Hogsmeade notice was stationed.

Both James and Sirius swore when they realised she was right, earning a disapproving glare from Lily while Willow hid a smile.

"I hate Christmas shopping," Sirius groaned, slumping in his seat. "I never know what to get anyone."

Willow laughed and kissed his cheek.

"I'm very happy with what I've got," she said. "And a box of chocolates wouldn't go down to bad either." She added with a wink.

Sirius grinned at her and lightly kissed her.

"You're a great girlfriend," he murmured. "But I'm getting you something more than a box of chocolates, I think you deserve a bit of spoiling."

Willow smiled and returned the kiss before turning her attention to Lily.

"What do you say that after shopping with my friends for you guys presents, you and I go shopping for theirs, and pick something out for these two." She jerked her thumb towards Sirius and James.

Lily nodded, looking exited.

"Sounds good," she said, "I do love Christmas shopping."

"And you two," Willow said turning to face James and Sirius, "get to spend a whole day finding everyone you're giving a present too, a present."

James nodded.

"Sounds like a plan," he agreed. "We've got to get Mum and Dad one, Remus, Peter, Lily, Willow and one for each other," he said, ticking them off on his hand. "That's ten presents between us, cause we usually do a join gift for Mum and Dad." He added, glancing at Sirius, who nodded.

"What exactly do we get for your parents this year?" he asked.

James shrugged.

"Probably a new china tea set, seeing as you broke the last one." He told him.

Sirius frowned before nodding.

"Yeah, I forgot about that." He said. "Yeah, well we'll get that for you Mum, and we'll get your Dad that whiskey he likes –Jack Daniels."

James nodded in agreement and the two began to discuss what they were going to get their friends causing both Lily and Willow to shake their heads in amusement.

Soon, the Hogsmeade weekend was upon them and after eating breakfast with Sirius, James, Remus, Peter and Lily, Willow headed down to Hogsmeade with Isabella, Lacretia and Mary.

"So," Lacretia said as they walked. "I take it that it's going very well with Sirius Black?" she smirked.

Willow smiled.

"Yup," she said. "He's brilliant."

"Is that all?" Lacretia asked, staring wide-eyed at her. "You're not going to give us any juicy gossip?"

Willow, Isabella and Mary laughed. Out of all of them, Lacretia was the biggest gossip in the group.

"No," Willow said. "I don't kiss and tell."

Lacretia sighed loudly but dropped the subject as they reached Hogsmeade and she was distracted by the thought of shopping.

The first shop they entered was the book shop where Willow bought Lily the new Hogwarts: A history, due to the fact that it was what Lily had specifically requested. She then proceeded to get Remus a book on different kinds of magical creatures – mostly due to the fact that he was a werewolf, a page she was defiantly editing.

When they had finished in that shop, they headed towards Honeydukes where they bought some sweets for themselves and Willow bought chocolate for Remus and Peter and a bag of Berite Bott's every flavour beans for Lily. From there they moved onto Zonko's where Willow bought Peter a bag of Dungbombs and James and Sirius a small bag of pranks.

When twelve o'clock came, Willow bid goodbye to her friends before departing for the Three Broomsticks where she had agreed to meet Lily and the Marauders for lunch.

"There she is!" Sirius cried, upon spotting her, a grin spread across his handsome face. "Good Morning, love?"

Willow nodded and allowed him to kiss her before settling into a seat between him and Lily just as Madam Rosmerta arrived, ready to take their order.

"Rosmerta," Sirius said winking, his hand slipping around Willow's wait. "Have you met Willow? My girlfriend."

Madam Rosmerta blinked, obviously surprised before grinning.

"Sirius, hon," she said. "That's wonderful, and from the looks of her, she's a keeper." She winked at Willow who smiled back.

"I know," Sirius replied proudly, grinning at her and causing Willow to blush.

Madam Rosmerta beamed at the both of them before bustling off to collect their orders.

"You didn't have to do that." Willow muttered.

"Do what?" Sirius asked, looking at her.

"Tell her that I'm your girlfriend."

Sirius' eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"But I want to show you off." He said.

Willow blushed beat red.

"Oh, well," she said, suddenly flustered, causing Sirius to be amused, but was saved from him asking any questions by Madam Rosmerta who bought them their food, causing Sirius, who was starving, to divert his attention to the food instead.

After an enjoyable lunch and a rather lengthy kiss with their respected partners, both Willow and Lily headed off on their own to shop.

"Any stores in mind?" Lily asked as they walked.

Willow nodded.

"Gladrags Wizards wear," she told Lily. "Isabella wants a top from there and I saw some earrings for Lacretia in there."

"Gladrags it is." Lily said and steered them there.

They entered the shop and Willow quickly located the top and earrings that had seen and purchased them before they exited the shop, they nipped into the book shop and Willow bought Mary a small book of magical facts vs. fiction before they headed out of the shop and down the street, looking at shops.

They came upon the shop that Willow had visited with Professor Century and she was struck with an idea.

"Here," she said, pointing to the shop. "James and Sirius will love it."

Lily glanced at the shop and shrugged before allowing Willow to lead her in.

The bell tingled as they walked in and Willow smiled as she took in the smell – dust with a hint of vanilla.

"How can I help – Willow, what a lovely surprise. That's twice in one year."

Willow turned to see Ernie stood there and smiled.

"It's good to see you again, Ernie." She said. "This is my friend, Lily Evans." She gestured to Lily, who waved and causing Ernie to smile.

"What can I do for you ladies?" he asked.

"Christmas presents," Willow said. "For our boyfriends, oh, and Professor Century, you know, the guy I bought in the last time."

Ernie nodded, he never forgot a face.

"The handsome one, yes," he said. "He was a nice man. How is he?"

"He's fine," Willow replied airily, eyeing some pottery. "Elfin?" she asked, looking at Ernie.

He nodded.

"Yes," he said. "The elves have worked hard this year."

Willow nodded.

"You got any elfin stuff you think Professor Century might like?" she asked.

Ernie looked thoughtful.

"Maybe," he said. "Follow me." With that he began to walk towards the back of the store, Willow and Lily following.

"I'm sure there's some stuff back here," Ernie said, shifting a pile of boxes.

But Willow ignored him. She had just found something that would suit the boys perfectly.

Reaching out she touched the necklaces, fingering the small, silver full moon that hung on the end.

"Ernie," she asked, turning to face him. "What are these?"

Ernie turned to face her and pushed the glasses he was wearing back up his nose.

"Oh," he said. "There rare, they are." He hobbled over to the necklaces and gently removed them from the stand. "Fairy made chains, soft but strong – vertically indestructible," he pulled hard on the string to prove his point, "and Elfin made moons," he gestured to the moon.

Willow smiled slightly.

"I'll take four." She said.

**A/N: Another chapter done and dusted.**

**Hope you liked it.**

**Remember, leave me a review to let me know – extremely appreciated!**

**Until next time!**

**Wacky Wizard **


	21. Furry Little Problem

**Disclaimer: You should know by now.**

**Summary: **When Sirius fell through the veil, he didn't die, but was instead sent back in time, to be more precise, his last year of Hogwarts. Now the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor he finds himself disliking his younger self but drawn to a sixth year student by the name of Willow Briar. But nothing can happen between a student and a teacher, right? SBXOC

Chapter Twenty – "Furry little problem"

All too soon the Christmas holidays rolled round and Sirius found himself stood in Hogwarts entrance hall bidding goodbye to Willow.

"Have a good Christmas," he told her. "And I'll see you New Year, right?"

Willow nodded a soft smile on her face.

"Have a good Christmas yourself, Sirius," she murmured, reaching up and lightly kissing him.

Sirius, as was customary now, deepened the kiss before Willow pulled out, her smile slightly wider than before.

"Here," he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, neatly wrapped box and handed it to her. "Don't open it until Christmas."

"I won't," Willow replied taking the box and pocketing it. She looked back at Sirius. "I'll owl you." She promised.

Sirius nodded, and, after one last kiss, watched as she descended with the others towards the coaches that would take them to the train, to take them home.

Once she was out of sight, he turned and headed back up to Gryffindor common room, humming merrily to himself.

He had had a very good seventh year so far.

They had a new defence teacher who wasn't afraid of a laugh, James had finally gotten his girl and Sirius, well, he had fallen in love.

He smiled to himself as he thought about the moment he realised he loved her.

_It was snowing heavily outside, as was customary in the highlands during the winter months, and Sirius and James had managed to persuade the Gryffindor common room to join them outside for a snowball fight. _

_James had been showing off how good his aim was when he was hit with a face full of snow, he brushed it away, ready to glare at the person who had thrown it, only to find Lily smirking at him._

_James had smirked back and Lily's eyes had widened before she had run, James chasing her._

_Sirius had been stood, laughing as James finally caught Lily, dumping her in the snow, when he, himself, had been shoved into the snow, and when he rolled over, it was to find Willow straddling him, a grin on her face as she had proceeded to rub snow in his face._

"_Got you!" she cried, laughing happily before jumping up and hightailing it._

_Sirius had followed immediately, catching her and tackling her to the floor. She had rolled so that he was on top of her and was laughing hard, causing him to laugh as well._

"_Happy Birthday, Sirius," she had murmured._

_Sirius had grinned, he had never told her it was his birthday, in fact, only his friends knew, and promptly kissed her._

"_How did you know?" he whispered, once he had pulled out._

_Willow just grinned at him._

"_Remus will do anything for chocolate." She replied._

_Sirius had stared at her before laughing, causing her to break out into laughter as well. For the rest of the time, the two of them had stayed making snow angels, occasionally throwing a snowball at each other when they became bored._

It had been a good day, that day and even though Sirius had never told her he loved her, he planned to do so – soon.

"Everything alright, Sirius?"

Sirius glanced up to see Professor Century stood there, an amused smile on his face.

"Hey, Professor," Sirius replied. "You staying for Christmas?"

Professor Century nodded.

"Of course," he said. "I take it that Willow has returned home?"

Sirius nodded and Professor Century smiled.

"Tell her thank you for my gift," he said. "When you see her, that is."

Sirius nodded, slightly confused.

"I will do."

Professor Century's smile widened.

"Merry Christmas, Sirius." He told him before continuing on his way.

"Merry Christmas." Sirius replied slowly before frowning.

Willow had gotten Professor Century a gift?

_They're good friends,_ a small voice in the back of his head said,_ She's probably just being nice, besides, he did help the two of you get together, maybe, just maybe she's thankful for that._

Sirius had to admit that the voice in the back of his head was probably right, but he still couldn't shake of the apparent jealous feeling he had.

* * *

The train pulled to a stop at platform nine and three quarters and after bidding a merry Christmas to her friends, Willow hurried off, looking for her father.

He was stood by the barrier, his dark hair streaked grey and pulled back into a ponytail, his hazel eyes lit up when he saw her and a grin spread across his scared face as he shifted, opening his arms wide.

She grinned and ran to him, flinging her arms around him and hugging him tightly, taking in the smell of musk that she had always associated with him.

"Hey Dad," she said, grinning up at him.

He grinned back and kissed her forehead.

"Hey, sweetheart," he murmured. "Much to tell me?" he added as he took her trunk and they passed through the wall and onto the busy muggle station of Kings Cross.

Willow smiled.

"You remember Sirius, right?" she asked.

Her father nodded; recounting the letters she had sent mentioning him and his friends.

"What about him?" he asked. "Are you two going out?"

Willow nodded and her father smiled.

"I thought as much," he said, draping an arm around her shoulders. "Your letters change when you mention him. Subtle to an outsider, but to your father, it's obvious."

Willow grinned, knowing it to be true.

"He's lovely," she told him. "So kind and caring."

Her father nodded.

"As long as he treats you with respect, I'm happy."

Willow grinned before taking his hand and allowing him to apparate them to their house.

They arrived with a small 'pop' and her father sent her to her room to unpack while he grabbed the Christmas decorations from the loft.

Willow did as she was asked, unpacking with record speed, changing into more comfortable clothes of jeans and a jumper, before heading down the stairs and into the living room.

The Christmas tree greeted her, standing in the corner of the room, bare and waiting to be decorated.

"That was her quick," her dad commented from where he was untangling the lights. "If I didn't know better I'd say you used magic." His eyes twinkled and Willow grinned before helping him with the lights.

* * *

The common room was mostly empty in the Gryffindor tower for many of its occupants had gone home for the holidays leaving The Marauders, Lily and a handful from the younger years left. The five of them were currently sat by the fire, Remus and Peter playing exploding snap and James teaching Lily the basics of Wizards chess. Sirius was staring into the fire; he had become slightly depressed since Willow had left.

"Oh, stop moping Pads," James called, shaking his head. "She'll be back soon, besides Christmas is a week away, so cheer up."

Sirius rolled his eyes at his friends comment and made to reply when there was a tap at the window.

All of them turned to see a large tawny owl hovering in front of the window.

"Isn't that Gaea?" Lily asked.

Sirius nodded, looking gleeful, and hurried towards the window.

Gaea flew through the window, circled the room once, and dropped the letter on the floor before soaring back out the window.

"That was fast," James commented, closing the window as Sirius scooped up the letter and tore it open.

_Hey Sirius (hi James, Remus, Peter and of course, Lils)_

_Fast letter ay? I just couldn't wait to write to you guys about this. We've put up our Christmas tree – there's a photo attached so that you can have a look. It's gorgeous; Dad really went all out this year._

_Speaking of Dad, he says he's happy for us and sends you his regards and a "Merry Christmas." He also says to tell Remus that he's got a title of a book for him to read, it'll help with his "furry little problem" it's called Werewolves: Fact or Fiction. Apparently it's good for a laugh._

_Anyways, I've got to go know, we're going out for a meal – tradition and all that. Will write later._

_Love all of you – yes Sirius, even you ;)_

_Willow x_

Sirius took the picture that was attached at the bottom and smiled as he looked at it.

The Christmas tree was indeed lavishly decorated, lights twinkled at him, the tinsel was draped across the tree and the fairy at the top of the tree winked at him.

In front of the Christmas tree Willow stood, currently blowing him a kiss, while beside her stood her father. A tall, handsome man with a scared face, he too beamed at the camera and waved, his other arm draped across the shoulder of his daughter.

He passed the picture to Lily who smiled when she saw it.

"What's with the book title?" James asked. "Werewolves: Fact or fiction? Does she know?"

Remus nodded, looking amused as he scanned the letter.

"Yes," he said, "Her dad's a werewolf so she knows what it's like to live with the condition."

"Her Dad's a werewolf?" Sirius asked, genuinely shocked.

Remus nodded and looked at him, a kind look on his face.

"It's not something she generally shares, due to the prejudice that's associated with being a werewolf, but she told me because she recognised me as a werewolf, apparently when you've been around one since you were one, you tend to be able to tell them apart." He informed him.

"Oh," Sirius replied.

"I'm sure she was going to tell you, Sirius," Remus said gently, as if reading Sirius' mind. "But you have to give her a chance, like I said, it's not something she generally tells people, I don't think any of her friends – except perhaps Isabella – know, and she's been friends with them for six years. Besides," he added, "It took me a long time to tell you guys, remember."

Sirius nodded, knowing Remus was right.

"Well," he said. "Maybe I should write back."

"Don't see why not, maybe you should mention you know about my problem," Remus informed him. "Make her feel more comfortable, who knows she might reveal to you what she revealed me."

Sirius nodded before reaching across the table and taking a piece of parchment, quill and ink from Lily's bag which was sprawled across the table and began to write back.

_Dear Willow,_

_Good to hear from you. James, Remus, Peter and Lils all say hi and are glad to see the picture – tree looks good by the way._

_Remus says thanks for the book title; I think he's going to actually look for it now. Just to let you know, I know all about Remus' "furry little problem" it was my idea to call him that in the first place._

_Tell your Dad a "Merry Christmas" from us too._

_Have a nice dinner._

_Looking forward to seeing you,_

_Love from all us – yes, including me – cheeky _

_Sirius, James, Remus, Peter and Lils x_

Satisfied with his letter and getting it approved by James, Remus, Peter and Lily, he then headed towards the owlery intending to get it sent that very day.

**A/N: Shorter chapter than usual, but I wasn't feeling very well when I wrote it, so please be nice in your review – there's a cookie in it for you if you do **

**Hope you liked it, despite the badness of it :/**

**Will update soon,**

**Wacky Wizard **


	22. Christmas

**Disclaimer: You should know by now.**

**Summary: **When Sirius fell through the veil, he didn't die, but was instead sent back in time, to be more precise, his last year of Hogwarts. Now the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor he finds himself disliking his younger self but drawn to a sixth year student by the name of Willow Briar. But nothing can happen between a student and a teacher, right? SBXOC

Chapter Twenty one – Christmas 

On Christmas morning, Sirius was awoken by James who had threw his pillow at him before pointing to the pile of presents at the end of the bed, something which James was already halfway through unwrapping.

Grinning, Sirius launched himself at the end of his bed just as Remus and Peter awoke, James having woken them too.

Pulling present after present towards him, Sirius unwrapped each one.

Mr and Mrs Potter had sent him a book on muggle jokes and pranks as well as a slice of chocolate cake – they knew he hated Christmas cake- James had gotten him a box of chocolate frogs and a multi-coloured woven band that Sirius immediately slipped on to join the rest of them that he had collected over the years, Remus had gotten him a book on defensive magic and a packet of Berite botts every flavour beans, Peter had given him some Honeydukes chocolate and a photo album while Lily had gotten him a gift voucher for Zonko's with a note attached stating that she was not giving him permission to pull pranks, but to cheer people up with a little laughter now and again.

Willow had gotten him two presents, a bulky package and a small box that had a note stating that he was not allowed to open it until everyone else had opened there presents. Deciding to accept the note, Sirius turned to the bulky package and opened it.

Inside was a small bag of pranks from Zonko's – something he grinned at – and a black t-shirt with white writing on it. He let out a bark of laughter as he read it.

_The white sheep of the family_

"What you laughing at, Pads?" James asked from where he was tucking into the cake his mum had sent him.

Sirius showed him the t-shirt and James snorted with laughter at it, spraying cake everywhere.

"I love her." Sirius muttered before slipping the t-shirt over his bare torso, it fit rather snugly.

"Did you get a box from Willow with a note stating not to open it until we'd finished opening our presents?" Remus asked, waving a box exactly the same as Sirius' in the air.

Sirius nodded and grabbed his box as James and Peter did the same.

"On the count of three," James said. "One, two, three!"

All four of them tore the lid of their boxes and gasped.

Nestled in the box was a necklace, a black, woollen chain with a silver full moon hanging off it.

"I don't believe it," Remus muttered and Sirius glanced up sharply to see tears in his friends' eyes as he fingered the necklace. "That woman is really something."

James and Peter nodded in agreement – both dumbfounded.

"You really know how to pick them, Pads," James said, inspecting the chain. "Hey, there's an engraving on the back." He pushed his glasses up his nose and began to read. "For special friends who stick together through thick and thin, may you always have each other. The Marauders – friends till we die."

Sirius couldn't help but grin as he too read the inscription on the back. Willow was really something, and, if it was at all possible, Sirius fell deeper in love with her than before.

After munching on sweets and getting changed, they headed down to the empty common room to find that Lily had left a note for them on the table by the fire.

_Dear James, Sirius, Remus and Peter,_

_Have gone down for breakfast already, didn't want to disturb you._

_Thanks for my presents, and a merry Christmas to you all._

_Love, _

_Lils_

James grinned and pocketed the note before all four of them headed out of the portrait hole, discussing all the things they could do on Christmas. They entered the Great Hall to find one small table with few people on it. They spotted Lily on it immediately, she was in deep conversation with Professor Century, and both of them were laughing as they approached.

"Good morning Lily, Professor," James said before stooping down and kissing Lily's cheek.

Lily blushed and turned, greeting them with a smile.

"Merry Christmas," she said. "Thanks for my necklace, James," she added, fingering a small gold chain with a tiny emerald on it. "I love it."

James just grinned before settling into a seat beside her, Sirius, Remus and Peter followed suit.

"Good Christmas boys?" Professor Century asked as he sipped his cup of coffee.

They all nodded.

"You get any good presents?" Remus asked.

Professor Century nodded.

"I was just thanking Lily for the gift she got me," he dug in his pocket and withdrew a small, working model of a Shooting star. "She remembered that I was obsessed with Quidditch." He grinned at Lily who smiled brightly back.

"What did Willow get you?" Sirius asked, remembering him mentioning it.

Professor Century's grin widened.

"She got me an elfin made ornament," he told them. "She remembered me taking a liking to it when I helped her find her Dad a birthday present. What did she get you?"

It was James that answered.

"She got me, Remus and Peter some sort of sweets as well as a small bag of pranks for me and Sirius, a book for Remus and that t-shirt that Sirius is wearing." He added, jerking his thumb towards Sirius' t-shirt that was under his robe. Both Lily and Professor Century grinned when they read it, "and she got us these necklaces." James added, showing them the necklace Willow had gotten them.

Lily nodded.

"Yes, she was very insistent on those, said Remus would appreciate it." She shrugged and took a sip of her tea.

After finishing a rather enjoyable breakfast they headed outside, persuading Lily to join them and began a snowball fight which people from the years below them and from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw joined them.

"Your girlfriend gone home for the hols?" Jonas King, a seventh year Ravenclaw who was on Sirius' team, asked.

Sirius nodded and aimed a snowball, it hit James in the back of the head, causing his glasses to be lopsided, he grinned and waved cheekily at him before ducking behind the fortress they had built up.

"Yeah, she's coming back early though." He told Jonas.

Jonas nodded.

"Nice girl," he commented, throwing a snowball of his own. "Lucie, my sister, really likes her. They're in the same year." He added.

Sirius nodded.

"She's great, Willow is." He said.

"Sure is," Jonas agreed. "Very protective as well, especially of her friends. Lucie told me she hexed Onyx Montague because he called one of her friends a "Mudblood". He was in the hospital for two weeks, wouldn't tell who hexed him, so Willow got away with it."

Sirius grinned at this.

"Montague's an idiot," he commented lightly.

"I hear you," Jonas replied. "He and his stupid friends. I dislike Avery and his friends even more. Avery tried to curse my sister, unfortuanaly for him, Professor Century caught him and docked fifty points from Slytherin and had him in detention for a month."

Sirius nodded.

"I'm surprised Dumbledore hasn't expelled him already. That's the second thing he's done to endanger someone's life. He tried to drown Willow two months ago." He added at Jonas' confused look.

Jonas let out a low whistle.

"Wow," he said. "He must have really caught her by surprise; Lucie told me she's brilliant in DADA."

"Four against one." Sirius replied throwing a snowball that collided with the small of Remus' back, causing him to buckle into the snow.

"Jeez," Jonas commented. "No wonder Professor Century looked furious that day, he looked ready to kill someone."

Sirius stopped and looked at Jonas.

"He did?" he asked.

Jonas nodded, throwing a snowball into the air, it landed on a fellow seventh year Ravenclaw.

"Yeah, saw him storming the hall after it had happened. It looked like he wanted to throttle Avery when he saw him, if the glare was any indication."

Sirius frowned as he thought back to the event.

He did remember Professor Century turning more of a blind eye to things that happened towards Avery in his lessons and had picked him rather a few times in order to demonstrate a spell that usually ended up embarrassing Avery in some way, shape or form.

The jealous feeling crept back into his system again.

Was it possible that Professor Century had more than platonic feelings for Willow, that he actually fancied her?

Sirius shook his head. Willow had never mentioned Professor Century behaving inappropriate towards her. She usually praised him and complimented him and Professor Century always kept a Teacher/ Student relationship between the two of them. However, Sirius wondered, they were left alone in the room together, alone. Perhaps, without Willow's knowledge, he had taken advantage of her in some way.

Whatever thoughts and feelings he had at that moment were disbanded as James threw a snowball at him that struck him hard on the head and caused him to fall face first into the snow while Jonas laughed hysterically beside him.

Having finished their snowball fight, the Marauders and Lily trooped through the castle, snow dripping from their clothes as they headed back to the Gryffindor common room to dry themselves up before lunch.

"Everything alright, Pads?" James asked his arm slung around Lily's shoulders. "You were doing well until Jonas said something."

Sirius blinked and looked at James before shaking his head.

"Fine." He said.

James raised an eyebrow.

"Come on, Pads," he said. "We've been friends for seven years; you think I can't tell when something is wrong?"

Sirius sighed.

"It's not relevant, besides, you probably think I'm being stupid."

"Try us." James countered.

Sirius glanced at him before taking a deep breath and relaying everything he and Jonas had had a conversation about as well as his feelings of jealousy towards Professor Century and his worry about Willow being alone with him.

When he was finished he was met with silence. Lily was the first one to speak.

"It's not unusual to feel jealousy towards someone who's close to the girl you fancy or are dating," she told him kindly. "Especially if you don't know them. I mean, look at what James used to do with any guy I had a conversation with."

James smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed.

"Well," he said. "I was an arrogant git back then."

"Not much has changed then." Remus commented cheekily causing James to punch his arm.

"What I mean," James said, glaring at Remus, "is that people change. Before you started dating Willow, you didn't have any problem with the fact that she and Professor Century were friends, but now that you're dating her, well, you've been bitten by the green-eyed monster."

Sirius shrugged.

"You're probably right," he agreed. "But I just can't shake this feeling in my gut that he's not who he says he is. I mean, he wanted to throttle Avery for what he did to Willow."

James shrugged.

"That's because he hates the dark arts," he said. "Remember how he talks about them in class – he always has disgust and contempt in his tone for them. If anything he sounds like you when you talk about the dark arts."

Sirius blinked.

"He does?" he asked.

James, Remus, Peter and Lily nodded.

"Look," Lily said, "If you are really bothered about it, talk to Willow, ask her about it. I'm sure she'd understand, and maybe, when you talk to her, you'll be reassured about their relationship. In my opinion, she sees him as a friend, maybe even views their relationship as a Brother/Sister type, you never know, until you ask."

Sirius nodded in agreement.

"Yeah," he said. "I'll do that."

Lily smiled and Sirius smiled back before turning back to his thoughts.

Lily was right, he decided. He should ask Willow about it. He knew she'd understand. She always did.

**A/N: Another chapter done and dusted. Probably a little hazardous in the way it's thrown together, but I'm happy with it and I hope you are too.**

**Enjoy and let me know what you think with a review!**

**Thanks again,**

**Wacky Wizard **


	23. Emotion

**Disclaimer: You should know by now.**

**Summary: **When Sirius fell through the veil, he didn't die, but was instead sent back in time, to be more precise, his last year of Hogwarts. Now the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor he finds himself disliking his younger self but drawn to a sixth year student by the name of Willow Briar. But nothing can happen between a student and a teacher, right? SBXOC

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it's been sooooooo loooooooonnnnnnnnnngggggg! But I have been extremely busy, so, to make it up to you, I am publishing two chapters of my story! XD hope you enjoy!**

Chapter Twenty Two – Emotion

Willow smiled as she walked the familiar path back to her house from the shop, it was Boxing Day and her Dad had sent her on an errand to collect some stuff for dinner that he had forgotten in his hasty shop the other day.

Holding the bag that contained a chocolate cake, some crackers and some gravy granules, Willow round the corner to her round to only come to a stop.

Halfway down the street, police cars lined the street and neighbours were hanging about outside, pointing at the sky, muttering.

Willow glanced up and her eyes widened, hanging in the sky was a large black skull, a snake exiting its mouth.

The dark mark.

Dashing down the street, she ignored the curious stares of her neighbours and ducked under the police tape, dropping her bags as she ran, full pelt towards her house.

"You can't go in there!" a voice cried, arms grabbing at her.

Willow fought them off and made to run into the house when someone stepped out, in her way. Willow instantly recognised him as an auror – a magical police officer who dealt with Death Eaters and other law breakers.

"Miss Briar," he said, gently.

That was it, Willow closed her eyes and let the tears fall, chocked sobs escaped her mouth and her body began to shake.

"Miss Briar," it was a familiar voice this time, and a hand touched her shoulders. She looked up to see Professor Dumbledore stood before her; a grave look on his face, beside him stood Professor McGonagall and Professor Century. "I'm so sorry, Miss Briar."

Willow just buried her head in her hands and felt arms encircle her, allowing her to bury her face in that person's shirt.

"Oh, Willow," Professor Century's voice whispered. "It's going to be okay, it's going to be okay."

* * *

Sirius was laughing as he entered the common room with James, having just come from the library where Remus, Lily and Peter were doing their homework.

"Did you see the look on his face?" Sirius asked. It was hilarious."

James smirked, satisfied.

They had been coming back from the library when Snape had attacked them. They had been surprised but overpowered him easily. James had decided, as it was Christmas, to give Snape's hair a wash before charming it so that it flashed red, gold and green in honour of it being Christmas, Snape had been furious and swore his revenge before hurrying off to find some cure.

Sirius had been laughing since.

"Hey Sirius,"

Sirius glanced up to see Arthur Henson from the fourth year walking towards him.

"I've just been in your room to find Remus, and there's someone in there," he looked worried. "They were crying on your bed, I think it's a girl."

Sirius looked at James who was also frowning.

"Thanks, Artie," James said. "Remus is in the library if you need him."

Arthur nodded and hurried off while Sirius ran up the stairs; James hot on his heels, both of them entered the dorm, their wands drawn.

Willow was curled up on Sirius' bed, her back to them, but they could hear her crying. Pocketing his wand, Sirius hurried towards her, kneeling by the side of the bed and touching her back.

She turned, slowly and Sirius felt his heart break as he saw her red and puffy face.

"Willow," he murmured, taking her hand and placing a chaste kiss on it. "What's wrong?"

Willow closed her eyes, a few tears leaking out.

"They killed him," she whispered, her voice breaking. "They killed my father," tears now streamed freely down her face. "Voldemort killed my Dad."

In seconds, Sirius was on the bed with her, his arms encircling her, allowing her to curl up beside him.

"I'll go tell the others." James whispered from the door way.

Sirius nodded and James turned, shutting the door behind him leaving Sirius to comfort Willow.

For many minutes, she cried and then, eventually, she fell asleep. Sirius stayed with her for a few minutes before slipping quietly off the bed and heading downstairs to the common room to find James, Lily, Remus and Peter all huddled round the fire. Lily rose when she saw him.

"How is she?" she asked, her face too was tear-stained.

"She's asleep," Sirius replied, slumping into an armchair. "She's pretty broken up."

Lily nodded, sinking into her own seat and resting her head on James' shoulder, he wrapped an arm around her in response.

"I think she's going to want to be alone tonight," Sirius added.

"We'll sleep in the common room," Remus said. "Give you two space."

"Thanks," Sirius replied before rising from his seat. "I'm going for a walk."

The others nodded and bid him goodbye before he headed out of the portrait hole and down the corridor, hoping, somehow to clear his head.

The only person, in his family, who had died that affected him, was his Uncle Alphard who had left him quite a lot of gold, and causing his mother to blast his name of the family tapestry.

But losing a parent, Sirius couldn't even fathom what that was like. His own parents he didn't care for, and if he lost Mr and Mrs Potter, well, he'd be distraught, he knew that. But Mr and Mrs Potter were still alive, getting on, but still alive. Willow, on the other hand, had lost both her parents. Her mother when she was still a babe, and now her father, the day after Christmas.

He sighed and slumped against a wall, what on earth was he going to do?

While the younger Sirius was at a loss, his older counterpart was pacing his study. He just couldn't get the image of Willow out of his head; he had been so relieved to find her alive.

When Albus had flown into his office and told him to come with him, there had been a death eater attacked, he had followed immediately, when he had found out that it was Willow's house that had been attacked, he was worried and when he had found out that Willow was missing, well, he was frantic. When he had eventually seen her, even though she was crying from distress, relief had seeped through every part of his body, glad that she hadn't been kidnapped or worse, dead.

When she had realised that her father was dead, he had had to hold her, just to know that she was real, that she was there.

It had been the most depressing moment of his life.

Deciding that going for an actual walk would clear his head, he proceeded to do so, unconsciously taking the familiar pathway towards Gryffindor tower, however, he stopped when he saw a familiar figure slumped against the wall, his head in his hand.

"Mr Black?" he asked.

His younger self's head snapped up.

"Professor," he replied, making to stand up, but Sirius sat beside him.

"I guess you found out about Willow," he said.

His younger self nodded.

"I don't know what to do," he admitted. "I don't know how to comfort her."

Sirius sighed and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Just be there," he said. "Just hold her, reassure her by being there. What she needs right now is something you've been craving, affection. That's why I took her to your room."

His younger self turned to face him.

"You bought her up?" he asked.

Sirius nodded.

"She needed a friend, someone who could be there for her, really be there for her. She needed you, Sirius. She always will do, just like you will always need her."

His younger self nodded.

"Thanks, Professor." He said.

Sirius smiled.

"Don't mention it, Mr Black." He said, rising to his feet, his younger self following suit.

"Professor," his younger self started. "What's going on between you and Willow?"

Sirius blinked.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

His younger self looked uncomfortable but stared him defiantly in the eye.

"What is the relationship between you and Willow?" he asked.

Sirius blinked as he realised what his younger self was getting at.

"I assure you, we are just friends," he said. "Miss Briar is a lovely woman, I will not deny that, but she is a friend, a very good friend nonetheless."

His younger self nodded.

"You spend a lot of time with her."

"I enjoy her company," Sirius replied with a shrug.

"Yes, but you spend a lot of time alone in your office."

Sirius chuckled at the supressed jealousy in his younger self's tone.

"I promise you, Mr Black, I have nothing but honourable intentions towards Miss Briar, she is a good friend and we spend time together, yes, but not always in my office, we sometimes converse in the library with her friends or walk the grounds together." He looked at his younger self. "I also have conversations with other students such as Miss Evans and Mr Lupin as well as Miss Briars friends, and, on occasion, Mr Snape."

His younger self nodded, looking faintly embarrassed now. Sirius rested a hand on his shoulder.

"My office is always open to students," he said. "And if you wish to join Willow in her talks with me then ask her, I have no objections to it and I'm sure Willow would enjoy the company, she speaks nothing but praise of you when she's in my office."

"She does?" his younger self asked, looking hopeful.

Sirius nodded, smiling.

"She cares for you, Mr Black." He told him. "You can see it in the way her face lights up every time someone mentions your name, and her eyes sparkle as she talks about you, and it's always something pleasant or amusing, she never whines or moans and," he glanced round the corridor, "between you and me, she seems stunned that she even managed to get you."

His younger self looked astounded by this information and Sirius smiled at him.

"Don't you have somewhere to be, Mr Black?" he asked.

His younger self frowned before his eyes widened in realisation.

"Yeah, thanks Professor." He added, before turning on his heel and running back towards Gryffindor tower.

Sirius watched him go, amused before heading back to his office, humming to himself. He really did love Willow – past, present and future.

Her hair was splayed across the pillow and her eyes were closed, tears stains lined her face and her chest rose and fell as she slept.

Climbing softly onto the bed with her, Sirius pressed himself into her back, wrapping the covers around them, his arm coming to rest on top. Her own hand moved and took his, squeezing it gently.

"Willow?" Sirius asked, gently, thinking she had awoken.

She shifted, her head turning to face him.

"Thank you," she said, a small smile on her face. "For being here."

Sirius smiled and kissed her forehead.

"I'd rather be nowhere else." He whispered.

The smile on her face widened and she turned fully over, facing him, her hand coming up to caress his face, he closed his eyes and turned his face into her hands.

"I don't want to be alone," she murmured.

Sirius took her wrist in his hand and placed a chaste kiss on the base of her palm.

"You won't be," he murmured, looking at her and reaching up to, gently, brush a piece of hair away from her face. "I'll be right here, until you don't want me."

Willow smiled and curled into him.

"I'll always want you," she replied, kissing him gently before snuggling into him, closing her eyes and falling back to sleep.

Sirius watched her sleep for a while before kissing her forehead.

"I love you, Willow." He whispered before closing his own eyes and drifting off into a sleep of his own.

**A/N: Sad chapter. I knew Willow was going to lose her father the minute I wrote the prologue for it's the basis of the plot that's about to unfold.**

**Of course, if you want to know what that is, you'll have to review **

**Yes, I know, that's blackmail, but, hopefully, it'll work ;)**

**Until next time,**

**Wacky Wizard **


	24. A pack

**Disclaimer: You should know by now.**

**Summary: **When Sirius fell through the veil, he didn't die, but was instead sent back in time, to be more precise, his last year of Hogwarts. Now the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor he finds himself disliking his younger self but drawn to a sixth year student by the name of Willow Briar. But nothing can happen between a student and a teacher, right? SBXOC

Chapter Twenty three – A pack

Willow awoke the next morning to arms wrapped round her and something heavy resting on her back.

Twisting slightly, she smiled as she found Sirius snuggled up beside her, his head resting on her shoulders and his mouth slightly open. She then came to the realisation that she was in his bed, and, as she glanced round the rest of the room, the dorm was empty.

Realising what they had done for her, Willow smiled sadly and slowly slipped out of bed, careful not to wake Sirius, before heading down the stairs. Upon reaching the last stairs, she stared out at the scene that greeted her.

James, Remus and Peter were sprawled across the sofa and two armchairs. James was on his back, his head hanging off the edge of the sofa, his arms open wide. Remus was curled up on one of the armchairs, his arms folded and sleeping peacefully while on the other armchair, Peter's head was hanging over the arm rest, his mouth open and he was snoring.

Gently, Willow padded over to where they lay and placed their blankets back on them before stooping down and kissing each of their cheeks. James stirred slightly as she did this, but continued to sleep and leaving Willow to turn and head back towards the boys dorm, she stopped at the bottom and turned to face them again, tears filling her eyes.

She really did have good friends.

Walking back up to the dorm, she found Sirius still asleep, scrawling him a note, she left it on the pillow beside him and gently brushed her lips against his forehead, like James, he too stirred, mumbling incoherently before turning over, splaying himself across the bed.

Smiling at this, she grabbed a jumper that was spilling out of his trunk and slipped it on, thankful for its warmth before heading out of the dorm, slipping out of the common room and heading out of the castle and towards the lake.

Reaching the lake, she settled down by the side of it, pulling her knees up to her chest, encircling them with her arms and staring out across the lake, tears leaking freely down her face.

Moments later, arms encircled her, allowing her to bury her face into their chest, a hand rubbed her back soothingly and the deep voice she'd wanted to hear, spoke.

"I've got you," he said. "I've got you."

Willow replied by burying her face deeper into Professor Century's shirt.

The space beside him was empty, groaning groggily, Sirius bought his hand to his eyes, rubbing them and then raised his head. The dorm was empty and the only person occupying his bed was him.

Groaning once more, he rolled over, hearing the sound of paper crinkling as he did so. Frowning, he reached behind him and pulled a piece of parchment from behind his head.

_Sirius,_

_Thanks for everything last night, I really appreciated it._

_I'll be back soon, just needed to go for a walk, get some fresh air._

_Tell James, Remus and Peter, thank you._

_Love, Willow _

Sirius sighed as he read the note and dropped back fully onto the bed, his hand falling over the side.

After lying there for several moments, he headed down stairs to find that his friends had awoken and that Lily had joined them, wincing as James cracked his back.

"How's Willow?" Lily asked as she saw him.

Sirius yawned and waved the note at her.

"Gone for a walk," he said, stretching as Lily took the note. "She told me to tell you guys thanks, by the way." He added, glancing at his friends, whom all nodded in reply.

"Do you think we should go find her?" Lily asked, chewing her lip as she read the note. "I mean, I know she said she'd be back soon, but still."

"Lily," Sirius said softly, taking the note from her. "Willow will be fine, if she doesn't return in," he glanced at his watch, "fifteen minutes, we'll go look for her, until then, I think its best we leave her be."

Lily nodded in agreement before sitting down next to James and allowing him to wrap his arm around her, she leaned into it and he kissed the top of her head.

The portrait hole opened and they turned to see Professor Century enter, his arm wrapped around Willow whose face was wiping tears from her face.

"…me like this, stupid." They heard her mutter.

Professor Century smiled, sadly.

"Willow," he said, gently. "You're grieving, it's natural. You don't have to hide it from your friends."

Willow nodded and Professor Century turned and blinked in surprise to find them all looking at him.

"Oh, your awake," Willow had noticed them too and Sirius turned to face her, noting, as he did so, that she was wearing one of his jumpers, his favourite one actually. It was a deep ruby red and he had to admit, it looked amazing on her.

"You alright, Willow?" Lily asked, rising from her seat and walking towards her, apprehension on her face.

Willow nodded and accepted the hug that Lily bestowed.

"I'm fine, thank you, Lily." She murmured.

Lily smiled and pulled back, glancing at Sirius.

Sirius took the hint, striding towards Willow; he pulled her into a hug, which she gratefully accepted.

Professor Century, Sirius noted, was smiling at the two of them.

"Thank you." He mouthed at him.

Professor Century nodded before ducking out of the portrait hole, leaving them to it.

"Do you want something to eat?" Sirius asked, looking down at Willow.

She nodded.

"Breakfast sounds good right about now." She murmured.

Sirius nodded and, keeping an arm wrapped around her shoulder, they headed out of the portrait hole. James, Lily, Remus and Peter followed behind.

The rest of the holidays passed quickly and Willow seemed happy to get back into the stream of things, it seemed to distract her from what had happened over the holidays. Her friends were told about what happened and each of them had comforted her in their own way before making sure she was fully distracted from it and buckling into work.

After a week back, however, Willow was sent a letter by owl telling her that the funeral had been arranged for her father. It was agreed that only one person could attend the funeral with her, and so, it was in the common room that Sirius found himself approached by her.

"Hey," he said, taking his feet off the sofa so that she could sit down. "Everything alright?"

Willow nodded.

"My dad's funerals been arranged for this Saturday," she told him.

"Oh," Sirius replied, unsure as what to say.

"Will you come with me?" she asked, looking at him. "Please."

Sirius nodded and scooted up the sofa, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"If you really want me too." He said.

Willow had nodded in reply and Sirius had lightly kissed her forehead before they had spent the rest of the evening curled up on the sofa in silence.

Saturday had come and Sirius had dressed in a black muggle suit and tie, Willow having informed him that due to muggles attending the service, it would be a muggle ceremony. Biding goodbye to his friends, he had descended the stairs to find Willow waiting at the bottom for him. She too wore black, a pair of tights and a sleeveless black dress covered with a black cardigan while a pair of simple black heels completed the look. Her dark hair was pulled back into a bun and Sirius noted she looked quite pale.

"Hey," he said, squeezing her hand. "Everything's going to be alright."

Willow nodded and smiled tightly before heading towards the portrait hole and towards Dumbledore's office where a portkey had been arranged for them.

"Are you ready?" Dumbledore had asked them, holding out what appeared to be an empty sweet wrapper.

Both Sirius and Willow had nodded before touching the portkey, it had glowed and the two of them had felt a tug in their navel before they were transported from Dumbledore's office into the drawing room of some fancy home.

"Willow!"

Sirius had seen a blur of brown and black before arms had embraced Willow, holding her.

The person then pulled out, tears glistening in their eyes, and Sirius could see it was a woman. She was around the same height as Willow, with light brown hair that was also pulled off of her face and brown eyes, she, like Willow, was wearing a black dress complete with a cardigan.

"Hey Francis," Willow said, smiling slightly. "Where's Nate?"

Francis made to reply when the double doors across from them opened and a tall man with dark blond hair and bright green eyes entered the room, he too was dressed in a black muggle suit with a green tie that complimented his eyes.

"Nate," Willow murmured, walking towards him.

Nate immediately accepted her hug and Sirius heard her begin to cry.

"Oh, Willow," Nate said, tears in his own eyes. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there."

Willow shook her head and pulled out, wiping her eyes.

"It's not your fault," she said, squeezing his hand. "Dad wouldn't have wanted you to blame yourself." She sniffed and turned back to Sirius. "Sirius, this is Nate, my godfather. Nate, this is Sirius, my boyfriend."

Sirius held out a hand towards Nate who took it with a firm shake.

"Sirius' friend is the one I told Dad about," Willow informed Nate. "He knows all about werewolves, and he doesn't care."

Nate grinned.

"Good," he said, looking Sirius dead in the eye. "Cause you are going to be in a group mostly made of them."

Sirius just nodded and Nate turned back to Willow.

"They all came to the funeral," he told her. "When an alpha of a pack dies, well, the whole pack feels the loss."

Willow nodded in understanding.

"Who's the alpha now?" she asked.

"I am," Nate told her before grimacing. "Fenrir is beta."

Willow shuddered while Sirius chocked in horror.

"Fenrir Greyback?" he asked.

Both Willow and Nate nodded. Willow looked repulsed while Nate was grimacing.

"You know Greyback?" Nate asked.

Sirius growled.

"He's the one who bit my friend." He informed them.

Willow's eyes widened while Nate shook his head.

"He's always been uncontrollable, the only one he ever actually listened too was your father, and now, well, now that he's gone, I don't know whether or not Greyback will want to discard the pack, run solo." He said.

Willow just shrugged, looking disgusted.

"I don't care," she said. "I never liked him anyway, he's creepy."

"No denying that." Nate muttered. "Shall we?" he added, gesturing to the doors.

Willow nodded and offered Sirius her hand; he took it while Francis and Nate walked in front of them, their hands interlocked.

"Willow," a man approached Willow, he too was dressed in black. "I'm so sorry for you loss."

Willow smiled and embraced the man.

"Thanks, Damien," she said.

The man nodded before conversing with Nate and Francis.

"Willow Briar, is that you?" a sickly sweet voice cut through the crowd and Willow shuddered before turning, out of the corner of his eyes, Sirius saw Nate tense before he too turned.

Walking towards them was a big, rangy man with matted dark hair, he was grinning showing yellowing teeth.

"Fenrir." Willow said as polite as possible.

Sirius tensed at the name, his hand tightening on Willow's hip, his other in his trouser pocket, grasping his wand.

Greyback's grin widened.

"You do remember me," he said.

Willow snorted.

"How could I forget." She said her voice hard.

Greyback laughed.

"Such a pretty thing," he said, reaching up and caressing her face.

"Don't you touch her!" Sirius snapped, glaring at Fenrir.

Fenrir turned to face him and smirked.

"Well, well, if it isn't Sirius Black," he said. "I know your cousin Bellatrix very well, shall I tell her you said hi."

Sirius growled.

"Bellatrix may be a filthy death eater, but I doubt she spends her spare time hanging around scum like you. She'd think it beneath her." He spat.

Greyback's face turned into an ugly sneer.

"I'd be careful what comes out of that mouth, Black," he hissed. "We wouldn't your pretty little girlfriend to be hurt now, would we."

Anger coursed through Sirius and he clenched his wand hard, but Nate intervened.

"Greyback," he said, stepping between them. "Do not think you can enter my house and threaten Willow," he told him, looking down at him, for he was slightly taller. "She is Jay's daughter, and we will protect her."

As if to emphasis his point, several other men and two women stepped forwards glaring hard at Fenrir.

Fenrir snorted.

"Fine," he said. "But you can't always protect her, Simons."

Nate snarled, baring his teeth and leaned in towards Fenrir.

"You touch her," he told him quietly, but so that the whole room could hear. "I will tear you to pieces."

Fenrir glowered but said no more, he shot a leer at Willow who gave him a hard stare before turning and walking away. Nate waited until he was out of sight before turning to Willow.

"Are you alright?" he asked her.

Willow nodded.

"Fine, thanks." She managed a small smile which Nate returned before glancing at the clock that stood in the hall.

"We'd best get going, funeral's due to start."

**A/N: What do you reckon? Let me know. Wacky Wizard **


	25. Aftermath

**Disclaimer: You should know by now.**

**Summary: **When Sirius fell through the veil, he didn't die, but was instead sent back in time, to be more precise, his last year of Hogwarts. Now the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor he finds himself disliking his younger self but drawn to a sixth year student by the name of Willow Briar. But nothing can happen between a student and a teacher, right? SBXOC

Chapter Twenty Four – Aftermath

The funeral was held in a small, old church in the village below Nate's house. It was a very quick and simple affair; the vicar gave a short speech about Jay Briar's life before Nate stepped forward and talked about Jay as a friend, as a husband and as a father. Hymns were sung and the coffin was carried from the church by Nate, Damien and two other guys, the congregation followed and the coffin was laid to rest at the side of another grave.

_Here lies Temperance Rose Briar,_

_Beloved daughter, wife and mother_

_Born 14__th__ November 1937_

_Died 23__rd__ August 1962_

_Thou that liftest me up from the gates of death _

Willow stared at the grave of her mother, tears in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry," she murmured. "I'm glad you're together again, but I wish you were still here."

She felt Sirius wrap an arm around her and leaned into him as he led her away from the graveyard and back towards the car which Nate was waiting outside for them. Wordlessly, the three of them slipped into the car, Sirius holding her hand all the way back to the house.

The house was once again crammed with people, not just of the wizard and witch variety but also of the muggle variety, each of them approached Willow telling her their condolences. Willow accepted them all gracefully before heading towards the buffet table.

"Thanks for coming with me," she told Sirius as they lined up.

Sirius squeezed her hand and smiled slightly.

"It's no problem," he told her. "I'm happy to help."

Willow smiled gratefully at him before picking up a plate and handing it too him, smiling in amusement as his eyes lit up at the food that lay before them.

"What is it with boys and food?" she muttered before taking a generous portion of the buffet for the food.

"We're growing and the food helps us." Sirius replied, piling his plate with the food.

"Yes," Willow agreed, "but is the way you're growing upwards or outwards? Because," she added with a cheeky grin. "I'm sure yours is growing outwards."

Sirius glowered at her causing Willow to hide a laugh with her hand before she turned round to find a place for them to sit and ended up colliding with someone.

"Sorry," she apologised, glancing up and hurriedly taking a step back into the buffet table as Greyback leered down at her.

"I don't mind," Greyback whispered, leaning down towards her so that his manky breath brushed across her face.

Willow shuddered.

"Back off Greyback," Sirius glowered beside her.

Greyback turned to sneer at him.

"I'm sure your cousin would love to hear about you dating a filthy Mudblood," he told him. "Especially one with a werewolf father."

Sirius snarled and before Willow could intervene he had thrown himself at Greyback, knocking him to the floor. How he had the strength to do this, she had no idea. Sirius was rather tall, but Greyback was far wider.

"Sirius!" she cried, attempting to pull Sirius off him as the two wrestled around on the floor.

Greyback suddenly flipped them, knocking Willow off balance so that she fell onto the floor just as Nate came into view, Damien and Brandon following him.

"That's enough, Fenrir!" Nate exclaimed as Damien and Brandon hauled him off of Sirius.

Greyback snarled.

"He started it," he snapped.

Sirius growled and made to lunge at him again but Nate held him back.

"Don't you threaten Willow!" he shouted.

Greyback laughed.

"What are you going to do about it?" he asked.

"Nothing," Nate replied before Sirius could. "But I promise you that Damien, Brandon and I will." He told him fiercely. "You are never to touch Willow, now get out of my house."

Damien and Brandon both released Greyback who snarled maliciously.

"You'll be sorry," he spat at Sirius. "All of you will," he turned to Willow, "You will be mine." With that he left.

Willow stared after him as muttering broke out across the floor and she pulled herself to her feet.

"Willow?"

She turned to see Nate looking at her, a concerned look on his face, Sirius stood beside him still glaring after Greyback.

"I want to go back to school." She said.

Nate looked apprehensive.

"Dumbledore said you could stay here the whole weekend," he told her.

"I want to go back," Willow replied. "I just want to go home."

Nate nodded.

"Alright," he said. "I'll arrange for something to get you back, both of you." He added, glancing at Sirius.

Willow just nodded and turned on her heel, walking out of the room.

* * *

Sirius lay on his bed, frustrated. It had been an hour since they had returned and still Willow had not spoken to him. The minute they had been transported into Dumbledore's office she had walked away, not giving him a chance to catch up and disappeared leaving Sirius to return to the common room alone, the others had been there, but, sensing he didn't want to talk had left him to walk up to the dorm by himself. James, however, had joined him fifteen minutes later to get ready for Quidditch practice and Sirius had ended up telling him everything about the fight.

James had been sympathetic.

"Just give her time, Pads," he said, resting a hand on his shoulder. "She'll come around."

Sirius had just nodded and James had departed with his broom leaving Sirius to his own devices.

Sighing loudly, Sirius rolled over and grabbed one of his textbooks; he might as well attempt to do his homework. Grabbing his transfiguration textbook he made to roll over again when there was a knock on the dorm door, glancing up; Sirius was surprised to see Willow stood in the doorway.

"Willow," he said, sitting up quickly. "Err, are you alright?"

Willow nodded.

"Can I come in?" she asked.

Sirius nodded and she entered the room, closing the door behind her and, as she walked towards him, Sirius swore he heard the lock click.

He watched as she walked towards him, she had changed out of the outfit she had worn and instead wore a black robe buttoned closed over her body, her hair was loose and fell in waves down her back, and she was chewing her lip.

"Sirius," she said, standing before him causing Sirius to look up at her. "I love you."

Sirius felt his heart light up and grinned.

"I love you too." He murmured.

A grin sprung across Willow's face and she carefully picked up her robe before straddling his lap, Sirius arms immediately circled holding her bottom. Leaning down she kissed him softly, lightly, her lips barely brushing his. Sirius let out a low growl of need and deepened the kiss, grinning as she giggled against him.

The kiss deepened and their tongues joined the ancient dance before Sirius rolled them over so that Willow lay on the bed while he lay on top, continuing to kiss her, Sirius began to unbutton her robe, pulling out and staring at her in surprise as his hands brushed over the lacy red bra she wore.

Willow's cheeks heated.

"I wanted to say thank you," she whispered, not looking at him. "For standing up for me against Greyback."

Sirius just stared at her body in amazement.

"So that's why you locked the door." He muttered.

Willow nodded, embarrassed causing Sirius to lean down and kiss her hard on the lips.

"Don't be embarrassed," he told her. "I love it."

She smiled back at him and allowed him to unbutton the rest of her robe and pull it off revealing the matching lacy red pants. Sirius groaned as he saw this.

"Gods, Willow," he muttered as he began kissing her neck, his hands exploring her body. "You're going to kill me one of these days." He pulled out and looked at Willow; her cheeks were flushed with pleasure.

"Maybe that's the idea." She replied softly.

A low growl ripped its way from Sirius' throat and he sat up, yanking his hangings close and causing Willow to laugh before he silenced her with his lips.

He was going to have a very good afternoon, very good indeed.

* * *

"Do you think we should go and get him?" Lily asked, glancing up the boys' staircase. "He's been in there all afternoon."

From beside her James smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"He'll be fine Lils," he told her. "Besides," he added, a smirk crossing his face. "When I went up there to drop of my broom, the door was locked and when I shouted for Sirius he told me to "Fuck off" which was then followed by a giggle which sounded like Willow."

Lily gasped and blushed while Remus and Peter grinned appreciatively.

"Well," she said, attempting to cover up her blush. "Maybe we should head down to dinner, leave them too it."

James grinned.

"Best idea." He said leading her towards the portrait hole.

The other Marauders followed behind them.

They entered the Great Hall to find that dinner had already started and so, taking the seats that had been left at the back of the table, they sat down and began to pile food on their plate. They had just begun to eat when Sirius entered the hall, grinning.

"Hey guys," he said, making his way over to them and pocketing some of the food on the way – bread, fruit and two goblets. "Willow would join us, but she's not really in a position too." And with a wink at them he was on his way.

"While I'm glad they're happy," Lily said, dropping her fork. "I don't really want to know details."

From beside her Remus smiled slightly while James laughed and spooned mashed potato into his mouth.

"Just let them be, Lils," he said. "This is the first girl Sirius has ever been crazy about, let them have their fun."

Lily folded her arms and glared in annoyance at her boyfriend.

"I understand that," she said. "But I still don't care for details."

* * *

"Mmm… this apple is delicious."

Willow was sat in bed, the bed sheet wrapped round her, munching on the apple Sirius had taken from the great hall as well as many other things he had taken from the kitchen, resulting in a mini picnic on the bed.

Beside her, Sirius nodded, taking a swig of the pumpkin juice in his goblet.

"It's not the only thing that's delicious." He said, his eyes shamelessly raking her body.

Willow grinned at him before leaning in and kissing him, she made to pull back but Sirius kept her there before rolling her over so that she lay beneath him in the bed.

She giggled at this and swatted his arm.

"Food first, sex later." She told him.

Sirius pouted.

"But I'm having fun." He whispered, nibbling on her ear.

Willow laughed and shoved him off her.

"And I'm starving," she replied, sitting up. "I promise you that when I finish eating, then we can go back to the fun."

Sirius grinned and Willow laughed as he began to shovel food into his mouth.

"Note that I said when I finished eating, not you," she smiled at the look of disappointment that crossed his face before taking a bite out of her apple. "And I'm a really slow eater." She added.

**A/N: Hope you liked it. **

**You should know where the review button is by now ;)**

**Till the next chapter,**

**Wacky Wizard **

**Oh, and the quote on Willow's mums grave is from Psalm 9:13**


	26. Blackmail

**Disclaimer: You should know by now.**

**Summary: **When Sirius fell through the veil, he didn't die, but was instead sent back in time, to be more precise, his last year of Hogwarts. Now the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor he finds himself disliking his younger self but drawn to a sixth year student by the name of Willow Briar. But nothing can happen between a student and a teacher, right? SBXOC

**AN: OMG! So sorry I haven't updated in a while...well, at least 3 months. Sorry bout that guys been hectic, well, at least you have another chapter to enjoy :) much love Wacky Wizard XD**

Chapter Twenty Five – Blackmail

Sirius sat in his office, marking the essays his fifth year students had handed in on the topic of werewolves. He knew, from experience, that this particular topic would more than likely turn up in the exam.

He was just marking a particularly interesting essay when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" he called, his eyes darting across the last part of the essay before scrawling an Outstanding on the top of the paper and glancing up.

A grin spread across his face as he saw Willow stood in the doorway.

"Hey," he said, rising from his chair. "How are you?" he added, walking round the desk towards her.

"Good," she said, walking to greet him and wrapping him in a hug before he perched on the edge of the desk and she slipped into the spare seat across from him. "Considering what happened."

Sirius nodded in understanding.

"How are you coping with that?" he asked.

Willow nodded.

"Isabella, Lacretia and Mary have been very helpful, but Sirius," she grinned at his name, "he's been very good at distracting me."

Sirius raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"I take it that I don't want to know." He said.

Willow just smiled in reply before shifting in her seat, crossing her ankles.

"How are you, anyway?" she asked. "We haven't had much time for a chat really."

Sirius shook his head.

"No we haven't," he agreed. "But I've been good, been busy marking essays on werewolves," he added, gesturing to the pile on his desk.

Willow nodded in understanding.

"I got an outstanding on my essay," she said. "But then again I grew up surrounded by werewolves," she suddenly shivered.

"Everything alright?" Sirius asked, concerned.

Willow nodded.

"Yeah," she replied, "it's just," she shifted in her seat again. "I ran into a very nasty werewolf at my dad's funeral."

"Who? Did they hurt you? Are you alright?"

Willow smiled at him.

"I'm fine," she replied. "His name Fenrir Greyback, he didn't hurt me but he and Sirius did have a fight."

"I'm not surprised," Sirius said darkly. "Fenrir Greyback is one nasty piece of work; I hear he positions himself next to his victims at full moon."

Willow raised her eyebrows at this.

"Really," she asked. "My dad never told me that, I knew he was a vile guy, don't get me wrong my dad used to complain non-stop about him to Nate, but they agreed, grudgingly, that they couldn't kick him out of the pack as he'd hurt too many other people."

"Pack?" Sirius asked, confused. "I didn't know you could have a pack of werewolves, I thought they liked to roam solo."

"Some of them do," Willow admitted. "But my dad was part of a pack, a large park actually; there were eight to ten of them together. Dad was the alpha and Nate was beta, but now, well, Nate's been bumped up to Alpha due to dad's death and well," she shuddered. "Fenrir got bumped up to Beta, although with what went down on Saturday, I doubt whether or not he's in the pack."

Sirius frowned in confusion.

"How do they survive?" he asked.

"Werewolves have rules," Willow told him. "For example, they aren't allowed to kill other werewolves, invade on other werewolves' territory and if they are part of the pack, they have to listen to an order issued by the Alpha."

Sirius blinked in surprise.

"Well," he said. "There's something I didn't know."

Willow laughed.

"Not many people do, Professor," she said. "Werewolves don't tend to announce themselves publicly due to the small fact of anti-werewolf schemes."

Sirius nodded in agreement.

"I can see how that would put a damper on conversations." He said.

Willow grinned at him before rising from her chair.

"While I hate to chat and run, I actually have somewhere to be, it was nice talking to you, Professor."

Sirius smiled.

"You too, Miss Briar," he said. "Feel free to drop in anytime, my doors always opens to you."

Willow nodded and bid him goodbye before exiting the office.

Sirius watched her go before grinning, he had never been happier in his life, but there was a slight niggling in the back of his mind. Remus had told him about Fenrir Greyback, and from the sounds of it, Greyback wasn't the nicest person in the world, he feared for Willow's safety.

* * *

The corridors of Hogwarts were empty as Willow strolled down them, humming to herself as she headed back to Gryffindor common room.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here."

Willow turned her wand in hand, to find Avery, Mulciber, Pucey, Parkinson and Greengrass. It was Avery who had spoken and he was leering at her.

"What do you want, Avery?" she spat.

Avery smiled menacingly.

"Just to chat," he said. "I hear from a very reliable source that you are friends with quite a few werewolves."

"What's it to you." Willow shot back.

Avery smirked.

"Fenrir Greyback's very interested in you, Briar," he told her. "No idea why," he added glancing her up and down. "He wants me to get you to him."

"Fat chance." Willow retorted, raising her wand.

Avery tutted.

"Five against one, Briar," he told her. "However, I am prepared to make a deal."

"Deal?" Willow asked, sceptical.

Avery nodded and began circling her.

"I will keep Greyback at bay as long as you promise to dump Black, and get rid of your friends."

Willow stared at him.

"I'd rather die."

Avery's smirk widened.

"That can be arranged," he said. "But don't be a surprise if something happens to your friends, we wouldn't want an accident on our hands now, would we."

Willow snarled at him.

"Get out of here," she said, waving her wand threatingly and causing red sparks to shoot out of it. "Greyback will never have me."

Avery shrugged, seemingly unbothered.

"Suit yourself," he said. "But don't say I didn't warn you." And with that he gestured to his friends and the five of them departed leaving Willow alone in an empty corridor, her heart beating frantically against her chest.

* * *

Lily strolled down the charms corridor on her patrol; she held her wand in her right hand and checked classrooms and broom cupboards as she went.

Suddenly, footsteps alerted her to a presence behind her and she whirled, her wand held high and casting light down the corridor.

No-one was there.

"James?" she called.

No reply.

Chalking it down to nothing, she turned and had barely taken a few paces forwards when footsteps once again alerted her to the presence of someone behind her.

"I suggest you come out!" she called, turning. "If it is you James, it isn't funny."

There was the sound of cold, hard laughter that caused Lily's hair to stand up at the back.

"James?" she whispered.

Suddenly, without warning, her body jerked and a slash appeared in her arm, followed by immense pain, another slash across her other arm, followed by pain, and again, again and again.

Pain rocked through Lily's body followed by the oozing of blood, grasping her wand she tried to raise a defence shield, but the last slash cut deep into her body causing her to gasp in horror and slump to her knees, darkness trying to overtake her.

"Help," she whispered hoarsely before darkness claimed her and she fell to the stone floor with a thud.

* * *

"Wake up! Sirius, wake up!"

Sirius groaned as he was shaken roughly.

"Go away, Remus," he snapped, slapping at his friends' hand.

"Sirius you need to get up, it's urgent."

Sirius rolled over and made to reply with something rude to his friend but stopped when he saw how pale his friend looked.

"What is it Moony?" he asked.

Remus swallowed hard.

"It's Lily," he said. "She's been attacked."

Sirius' eyes widened before he shoved back the covers and rolled out of bed, grabbing a pair of trousers and pulling them on.

"Does James know?" He asked, shoving his arms through his jumper.

Remus nodded.

"He was the one who found her." He told him.

Sirius swore at this and pocketed his wand before following Remus down the boy's staircase to find Willow waiting in the common room for them, bundled up in a dressing gown.

"What's going on?" she asked. "Mary wouldn't tell me anything, just said I needed to wait in the common room for you guys. What is it?"

"Lily was attacked," Remus told her. "She's lost a lot of blood; they're contemplating whether or not to move her to St. Mungo's."

Willow's face drained of colour.

"What?" she asked, barely audible.

"She'll be fine," Sirius said, quick to reassure her before turning to Remus. "Are we going the hospital wing?"

Remus nodded.

"Dumbledore says that James really needs a friend now."

Sirius nodded in understanding and the three of them headed out of the portrait hole and towards the Hospital wing, Sirius' fingers threaded through Willow.

"Why does he need me?" she asked as they half walked, half ran.

Remus shrugged.

"He just told Mary to get you, probably thinks that James could do with reassurance as well as a friend."

Willow nodded and didn't speak again until they reached the hospital wing where she gasped as she saw the bed that Lily occupied.

It was like the time Sirius had been in the maze, except blood filled bandages were wrapped around Lily's body, making it nearly the same colour as her hair. Her face was deathly pale and her usually vibrant green eyes were closed, the lids holding a purple shade to them.

Beside her, looking distraught sat James, he turned when he saw them and Sirius immediately released Willow to go and comfort his friend, his brother.

"Mr Black, Miss Briar," Dumbledore's soft voice said from where he was stood at the foot of the bed with Professor McGonagall who also looked as white as a sheet. "I'm glad you could make it."

"What happened, Professor?" Sirius asked.

Dumbledore looked grave.

"It appears the curse that was used on you," he said, "but more advanced, Madam Pomfrey's having trouble controlling the blood," he looked at Willow who was staring at Lily. "I presumed with your ability to patch up your father after a full moon that you would be able to stop the flow of blood, it is my understanding that when scratched by a werewolf, if the wounds are not dealt with properly, they too bleed like this." He gestured to Lily's blood stained body.

"The only thing I ever used with my father after he'd been in fights with werewolves was a blood clotting potion followed by several blood replenishing potions." She told him. "Why can't you heal him like you did with Sirius?" she added.

Dumbledore looked grim.

"We tried," he said, "But the wounds just kept re-opening."

"You don't think it's a death eater attack, do you?" Remus asked. "That there are somehow death eaters within the school?"

"It is a thought that has crossed my mind many times, Mr Lupin," Dumbledore said. "Especially given the message that was left beside her." He held up a small roll of parchment.

The words _"You were warned_" were written on in large, loopy handwriting that none of them recognised.

However, Sirius noted, out of the corner of his eyes, that Willow seemed to have turned paler than before as she stared at the note, causing him to frown. Did she know something behind the note? Something she wasn't telling anyone else?

**A/N: Another chapter done and dusted, with a slight cliff hanger. Of course, we – the readers that is – know who the culprit is and we – again as readers – know what Willow is hiding. The question is, is there something she's going to do about it? Or are more "accidents" going to happen.**

**Leave a review to let me know what you think,**

**Wacky Wizard **


	27. Promise Rings

**Disclaimer: You should know by now.**

**AN: Hey guys, sorry again for the long update been busy with uni work and stuff, but enough of that, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

**Summary: **When Sirius fell through the veil, he didn't die, but was instead sent back in time, to be more precise, his last year of Hogwarts. Now the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor he finds himself disliking his younger self but drawn to a sixth year student by the name of Willow Briar. But nothing can happen between a student and a teacher, right? SBXOC

Chapter Twenty-six – Promise rings

The halls of Hogwarts were crowded but Willow didn't care as she stalked through them, pushing her way through crowds of people, and ignoring their protest, she headed towards the Slytherin common room where she knew Avery and his little gang would be lurking.

She had decided last night that she was going to take the deal that Avery had offered her, even though it would pain her, she was going to do it so that no-one else would be hurt like Lily was.

Lily was still recovering in the hospital wing and there was talk of her being moved to St. Mungo's if she didn't wake up today. James had been excused from all lessons but had insisted on going anyway while Dumbledore had written to Lily's parents to inform them of what had happened.

She found Avery right where she thought she would; he was currently tormenting some frightened first year Hufflepuff.

"Avery!" she yelled, stalking towards him, her wand in her hand.

Avery turned and smirked as he saw her, letting the frightened first year go, his friends Mulciber, Parkinson and Pucey sneered at her.

Willow glowered at them as she came to a stop in front of them.

"Deal." She growled at him.

Avery smirked and held out his hand. Willow stared at it before shaking it firmly and then turning on her heel and leaving.

A single tear rolled down her cheek.

* * *

"James, mate, can I show you something?"

James turned to find Sirius sat beside him in the common room, tapping his fingers nervously against the chair.

"Sure," James replied, forcing his mind away from Lily and onto Sirius. "What's up?"

Sirius' eyes darted sideways and he turned his head, scanning the common room before digging into his pocket and handing James a box.

Eyeing the box and then looking at Sirius, who was looking at his knees, James' prized the box open and sucked in a lungful of air as he saw what was inside it.

"An engagement ring?" he asked, lowly.

"Promise rings," Sirius corrected. "Andy sent them me; apparently Ted gave her one while they were dating."

James nodded, and took it out of its box. It was a small silver band with the words I love you engraved on the inside, and a small diamond in the middle on the outside.

"You said rings," he mumbled glancing at Sirius.

Sirius held up his left hand where a silver ring, familiar to the one in the box – minus the diamond – on his middle finger.

"Wow," James said, "you really are serious about her, aren't you?"

Sirius nodded.

"I don't know how to explain it, James," he said, leaning forwards in his chair, his dark hair falling into his face, he brushed it back impatiently and looked at James. "I just can't seem to stop thinking about her. I never had a girlfriend before, sure, I've been interested in a few, but they're not like Willow, she's different." He paused and took a deep breath. "She's into pranks – remember when we first met her?" James nodded remembering the incident. "I'm not saying other girls aren't, I mean we've all be pranked by some girls," again James nodded, "but most girls would run if you told them that you had a friend who was a," he lowered his voice, "_werewolf,_ but not Willow. She's grown up surrounded by werewolves so they don't scare her. She's not afraid to give her opinion and she never backs down from a fight, ever."

"I'll give you," James said, leaning forwards also, the box still in his hands. "Willow is some woman, and, I'm glad you've found someone that makes you happy, the way you're supposed to be."

Sirius grinned at him.

"Thank you." He said. "And don't worry about Lils, she's tough, she'll be fine."

James nodded looking grim before glancing over at the portrait hole and a grin crossing his face.

"Now's your chance, Pads," he said, handing the box to Sirius.

Sirius took it from him and stuffed it into his pockets just as Willow came to stand beside them; she was chewing on her lip.

"Hey!" Sirius cried, rising and grinning at her.

Willow smiled tightly back and Sirius frowned.

"Everything alright?" he asked.

Willow nodded.

"Can I talk to you, alone?" she added, glancing at James.

"Sure," Sirius replied. "Where do you want to go?"

Willow gestured to the portrait hole and Sirius followed her out there.

Willow swallowed hard as she turned to face Sirius, who was looking at her, a concerned look on his face.

"Everything alright, love?" he asked, leaning forwards and bracing himself against the wall with his hand and looking down at her.

Willow felt tears well up in her eyes, but kept her cool.

"I don't want to do this anymore." She told him.

Sirius looked confused, his eyebrows drew together.

"Do what?" he asked.

Willow took a deep breath.

"I don't want to go out with you anymore."

Sirius' eyes widened.

"What?" he stuttered.

Willow shrugged.

"I just don't want to go out with you anymore." She told him. "That's the end of it." And with that she turned away from him and walked away, down the corridor and around the corner, hiding behind a suit of armour before letting the tears fall freely down her face.

Meanwhile, Sirius stood in the corridor, still staring at the spot where Willow had been moments ago, his brain trying to process what had just happened.

Had Willow just dumped him?

_Yes_ a small voice in his head told him. _Yes she did._

He couldn't believe it. The one girl he cared about, the one girl he actually loved had just finished him.

Had it all been a lie? Some trick? A joke perhaps?

_No_ the same small voice as before said. _She loves you, there's something else going on._

But Sirius had no idea what to do about whether or not something was going on. Part of him wanted to run after her and demand an explanation, demand to know why she'd suddenly dumped him, but another part, a bigger part, wanted to run up to his room and hide there for as long as possible, it was this part that won out.

Turning round, he muttered the password to the fat lady, who eyed him sceptically as if trying to figure out what was wrong, and entered the common room. He was dimly aware of James calling to him, but he carried on, up the staircase and into the boys' dorms where he climbed onto his bed, drew his hangings around him and just sat there, blankly looking up at the ceiling.

* * *

James stared up the boys' staircase. What on earth had gone on with Willow? Had she said no, perhaps?

Part of him was tempted to head up and ask Sirius if he was okay, but the other part knew that when Sirius was upset or angry it was best to leave him to his own devices.

Sighing deeply, he glanced round the common room, and finding nothing of interest, rose from his seat with intention to head towards the Hospital Wing and check on Lily, maybe after that he'd stop by in the library and see how Remus was getting on with tutoring Peter in DADA.

Exiting via the portrait hole, he was surprised to see Willow walking towards him, her face red and puffy as though she'd been crying hard.

"Willow," he said, walking towards her concerned. "What's the matter?"

For some reason Willow looked extremely frightened when she saw him.

"Just leave it, James," she said. "Please."

James frowned. What on earth was going on?  
"Did you and Sirius have a fight?" he asked, kindly.

"Like you don't know," she said, sounding rather bitter if he admitted it.

"No actually," James replied, crossing his arms. "I don't. Willow, what happened?"

To his surprise Willow burst into tears.

"I dumped Sirius, okay." She cried.

James was flabbergasted.

"Why?" he asked, grabbing her shoulders. "What did you do that for, Willow? He loves you? Why on earth would you dump him?"

Willow just cried harder.

"You wouldn't understand!" she cried and before James could re-act she had released herself from his grip and hurtled back the way she came, crying furiously.

James was extremely tempted to go after her, but decided that dealing with Sirius was more important right now. Turning round, he said the password to the fat lady whose lips thinned.

"Will you make up your mind?" she demanded before swinging open and allowing James to head back into the common room and find Sirius.

Sirius' hangings were closed when James entered and he sighed deeply before walking over.

"Pads," he said tentatively. "Pads, it's me, I know what happened."

There was a rustling of movement and Sirius' hands appeared holding open the hanging allowing James to duck under and settle on the bed opposite Sirius.

"I'm sorry, mate," he said sincerely.

Sirius just nodded looking glum.

"I still love her, James." He murmured.

James smiled sadly.

"And a part of you always will do," he told his friend. "Just give yourself time."

Sirius looked at him and James shuddered, it was as if he was looking at a broken man.

"No time will do." He whispered before turning away from James and curling up on his bed.

James watched him for several moments before sighing and slipping of the bed. Heading out of the dorm, he knew exactly where he was going.

* * *

Sirius sat in his office reading over an article about Stubby Portman, the lead singer of the Hobgoblins, a band still very popular in the late 70's within the Wizarding world. He grinned as he read the article, he had been a very big fan of the Hobgoblins, and still was, even though Stubby had retired due to having a turnip thrown at him during a concert.

A knock on the door distracted him slightly and he glanced up to see the messy, jet black hair of his best friend in the window pane.

"Come in!" he called, folding the magazine and leaning back, propping his feet up on the desk just as James entered the room. "James," he said his grin widening. "What can I do for you?"

James sighed deeply and ran a hand through his already messy hair, something now of habit rather than trying to impress Lily.

"Willow broke up with Sirius." He told him.

Sirius had not been expecting this and his feet fell from the desk with a thud while his mouth dropped open in surprise.

"She… she… what?" he asked, staring at James.

James looked glum.

"I know," he said, sinking into a chair. "I had the same reaction when I found out." He chewed his lip thoughtfully. "It was really weird though, she seemed really distressed about it. She couldn't stop crying and told me I wouldn't understand when I asked her why."

Sirius too frowned, that was unlike Willow. She hardly cried and she certainly never hid anything from anyone, she was, generally, a very open person with her thoughts and feelings, but not emotional. She was rational, and this, well, her breaking up with Sirius was irrational. There was something underlying this, and he was going to find out.

"James," he said rising from his seat and causing James to look at him. "You go and check on Sirius, reassure him that everything is going to be okay, distract him somehow, I'm going to find Willow, get to the bottom of this."

James nodded and left the office, Sirius followed after him, heading in the opposite direction.

He knew exactly where Willow would be and he was determined to get to the bottom of this once and for all.

**A/N: So she gave into the threat. She still loves Sirius of course, but she can't bear to see him hurt or worse, dead. She rather he hated her and lived than loved her and died.**

**Hope you liked it, and remember…**

**Review!**

**Until the next instalment**

**Wacky Wizard **


	28. Veritaserum

**Disclaimer: You should know by now.**

**Summary: **When Sirius fell through the veil, he didn't die, but was instead sent back in time, to be more precise, his last year of Hogwarts. Now the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor he finds himself disliking his younger self but drawn to a sixth year student by the name of Willow Briar. But nothing can happen between a student and a teacher, right? SBXOC

**A/N: I must apologise for keeping you waiting for so long, almost four months. Things have just been extremely hectic at the moment. Thanks for all the support I've been getting and I hope you enjoy!**

Chapter Twenty Seven – Veritaserum

The kitchen was crowded with house-elves who all swarmed towards him as he entered the kitchen, politely declining their offers of food, he made his way to the table where a young girl was sat, a bowl of untouched hot chocolate cake in front of her and a house-elf beside her.

"Why is Miss so sad?" the house-elf asked.

The young girl sniffed.

"I broke up with Sirius, Beanie." She told the house-elf.

The house-elf gasped in surprise.

"But why, miss?" he asked. "Beanie liked Master Sirius, he was very nice to Beanie."

The young girl sniffed and wiped away a stray tear.

"I didn't have a choice." She mumbled and then began to cry again.

Beanie looked very sad and patted the young girl's back.

"There, there, Miss," he said. "Perhaps if you eat some cake, it'll make you feel better."

Sirius watched as she smiled at the house-elf through watery eyes and began to slowly eat the cake.

"Willow?"

Her head snapped up and she turned to see him as he sank into the seat beside her. Tears spilled over her eyes.

"I take it you know." She said.

Sirius nodded.

"Yes," he said. "James told me. Willow, why did you do it?"

Willow sniffed.

"I just didn't want to do it anymore." She mumbled.

Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"That's not what you told the house-elf." He said, gesturing to Beanie who was stood between them.

Willow's bottom lip trembled.

"I can't tell you!" she wailed, tears cascading down her face. "I can't. I'm sorry!" and before Sirius could re-act she had hopped down from the stool and ran out of the kitchen.

Sirius watched her go and sighed.

What on earth was he going to do?

* * *

It had been a week since Lily had been cursed and she now, a week later, was sat propped up against her pillows in the Hospital wing, having woken just before lunch, and Madam Pomfrey had alerted Dumbledore who had come and asked her many questions, none that she had been able to answer fully, before her friends had been allowed in, warned that they had to be careful as she was still delicate.

James had immediately hurried towards her, only to stop as he remembered what Madam Pomfrey had said before settling for a kiss on her cheek causing Lily to smile at him and a relieved grin cross his face.

"I'm glad you're feeling better," Remus told her warmly.

Lily smiled back and made to open her mouth when the hospital wing door opened and Willow came in.

"Oh Lils!" she cried, hurrying towards her and making to hug her only to realise she probably shouldn't and settled on a big smile instead. "How do you feel?"

"Fine," Lily replied, glancing at Sirius who was avoiding Willow, she too seemed to be avoiding Sirius. "Is everything alright between you two?" she asked.

Willow's smile slipped from her face and she glanced nervously at Sirius, who stared at his feet. James, Remus and Peter shifted uncomfortably.

Willow eventually broke the silence.

"I broke up with Sirius." She murmured. "And don't, please." She added as Lily opened her mouth to ask why. "I really don't want to talk about it. I'm glad you're better, Lils." And with that she turned on her heel, walking away from them all.

Lily immediately turned to face Sirius.

"Sirius?" she asked. "Are you okay?"

"No," he replied bluntly. "The girl I loved just broke my heart, what do you expect?"

"Sirius," James warned but Lily shook her head at him.

"I'm sorry, Sirius." She murmured.

Sirius waved it away.

"Don't be," he said. "It wasn't your fault. Get better soon." He smiled grimly before rising from his seat and exiting the hospital wing.

Lily waited until he was gone before turning to James, Remus and Peter.

"Something is up," she said. "Willow would never break up with Sirius, she loves him too much. There's an underlying issue here, you have to find what it is."

"I agree," James told her. "We all do."

Remus and Peter nodded.

"But," Peter squeaked. "She won't tell any of us what it is. She won't even tell Professor Century, he seemed really worried about her."

"Yes," Remus agreed looking thoughtful. "Strange how it all seemed to happen after your attack Lily."

"Of course!" James cried, smacking a hand to his head.

"What?" Lily, Remus and Peter asked.

James just twitched with excitement.

"I know what's wrong with Willow," he said.

"You do?" Lily asked.

James nodded.

"She knows who sent the note, she confronted them, and they blackmailed her." He told them.

"What note?" Lily asked at the same time Remus and Peter asked, "Blackmailed her about what?"

"There was a note left with you after you were attacked," James said, answering Lily's question first. "As for the blackmail thing, they're blackmailing her about Sirius. They obviously threatened to hurt him like they did Lily so she broke up with him, in hopes they wouldn't hurt him."

"While I agree with your reasoning, prongs," Remus said. "I just don't understand who would blackmail Willow? She's not afraid of anyone. Not even Avery and the rest of his little gang."

James nodded in agreement.

"Well, we'll just have to find out, won't we?" He said.

"And how do you propose we do that?" Remus asked, raising an eyebrow.

James glanced around, making sure no-one was near, before pulling out a silver cloak and causing Lily to gasp.

"An invisibility cloak," she breathed. "They're so rare, where did you get it?"

"My dad," James replied. "It's been in my family for generations."

Lily nodded looking amazed.

"So that's how you snuck around school." She murmured, eyeing the cloak.

"We can hide under this, and follow Willow." James told them.

Remus and Peter nodded.

"Let's do it." They said.

* * *

Willow sat by the lake and sighed deeply. She missed Sirius, she really did, but she'd rather he hated her and lived than loved her and died, and if he continued going out with her then that is what he was going to be. If Greyback had made a threat, which he had, then he was going to keep to it.

She knew she should tell Dumbledore, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. She didn't want to risk Avery finding out and alerting Greyback as to what had gone on. She didn't want to risk lives for the sake of her love.

_Tell Nate_ a small, rational voice in the back of her head told her. _Tell Nate, he'll sort it. He, Damian, Brandon and Axel are stronger than Greyback, they can handle him._

Willow knew that the voice was right, but didn't want to risk Avery finding out. Taking a deep breath, she rose from the lake side and headed over to the owlery, pausing momentarily as she had the strangest feeling that someone was following her, but, upon turning round, and seeing no-one there, she presumed she was just paranoid and headed off towards the owlery once more.

_Dear Nate,_

_I hope you and Francis are okay. Give my love to her when you see her. _

_Thanks for everything you did in regards to my Dad's funeral, he'd have loved it._

_You remember what happened at the funeral? Well, there's something bugging me about that. I need some advice._

_Love,_

_Willow._

Re-reading the letter and satisfied that it gave nothing away, she coaxed Gaea down from her perch and gave her the letter.

"Make sure it gets to him." She murmured.

Gaea hooted and nibbled her hand affectionately before taking flight.

Willow watched her go before heading back down the owlery stairs and towards the castle.

Once more she felt the strange feeling of being followed; turning with her wand in hand she scanned the grounds before her, but saw nothing

"Willow?"

Startled, she whirled, letting a spell fly from her wand only for it to be blocked with ease by Professor Century.

"Sorry, Professor." She apologised.

Professor Century smiled and waved it away.

"Why don't you come for a cup of tea with me." He offered.

Willow opened her mouth to reject and then closed it. Why should she saw no? It was just tea, right?

"Sure," she replied.

Professor Century nodded and led her towards his office, if she hadn't been busy staring at her feet, she would have noticed the nod he sent behind them to the seemingly empty corridor, and the sudden thumbs up that appeared in mid-air.

* * *

James grinned as he pulled off the invisibility cloak.

Everything was going according to plan. In precisely ten minutes, they would know why Willow had dumped Sirius.

Professor Century hadn't originally been part of the plan, but he had caught Remus' feet and, not seeing the rest of him, had figured out they were invisible and had called them out on it.

They had had no choice but to surrender and so; they had told him they were following Willow with hopes as to finding out who was blackmailing her – James having explained the whole story.

Professor Century had seemed quite impressed with this plan, and had asked for involvement, telling them it would be easier to use Veritaserum – the truth potion.

All three of them had liked this plan better than their own and so Professor Century had been initiated into the plan.

James, Remus and Peter were still going to follow Willow just in case she did talk to someone who was blackmailing her, and then, when she reached the castle, Professor Century would be ready and waiting to take over in the Entrance Hall, asking her to his office for a cup of tea, which he knew she would accept, and to which he would pour the truth serum into her drink, and, hopefully, they would get all the answers they needed.

James couldn't help but grin as he, Remus and Peter headed back to the common room.

This had to be the best thing that any of them could have thought off.

Now, he thought as they slipped into seats by the fire, all they had to do was wait it out.

Professor Century had promised them he would tell them everything, and that they could go to him the minute Willow entered the portrait hole.

Not ten minutes into their sitting down did the portrait hole open, letting in Willow who looked slightly dazed but happier than before. They watched as she walked straight past them and headed up to the girls dorm.

James, Remus and Peter waited until the door shut before hurrying out of the portrait hole and towards Professor Century's office.

The door was open and they dashed inside to find Professor Century sat at the desk, his head in his hands, when he raised them; they were surprised to see them filled with tears.

"Sit down." He told them, his voice hoarse.

They did, and James, for the first time since they had conducted the plan, felt scared.

**A/N: Hope you liked it. I know it's a bit rushed after what happened, but don't worry, it'll drag off for a while, and besides, Sirius has got to forgive her yet, something he won't do in a hurry. After all, look at his family background, trust means everything to him, and, as far as he'll be concerned, Willow broke his trust, as well as his heart.**

**Reviews welcome!**

**See you next chapter,**

**Wacky Wizard **


	29. The Truth

**Disclaimer: You should know by now.**

**Summary: **When Sirius fell through the veil, he didn't die, but was instead sent back in time, to be more precise, his last year of Hogwarts. Now the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor he finds himself disliking his younger self but drawn to a sixth year student by the name of Willow Briar. But nothing can happen between a student and a teacher, right? SBXOC

**A/N: Apologies I've not updated in, well, forever, but I've been really busy. So please accept my humblest of apologies and Enjoy!**

Chapter Twenty eight – The truth

"Professor," Remus started tentatively. "What happened?"

Professor Century sighed deeply and wiped at his eyes.

"What I am about to tell you," he said. "Is so terrible, that I had to confound Willow so that she'd forget she told me."

James chewed apprehensively on his lip while Remus and Peter exchanged terrified looks.

"Remus," Professor Century said, leaning forwards and looking at Remus. "Tell me, do you know who Fenrir Greyback is?"

Remus paled visibly.

"He's the werewolf who bit me," he murmured.

Professor Century nodded.

"Greyback, from what I have heard and gathered, is a dangerous man, someone not to be messed with." He took a shuddering breath. "It is apparent that Willow has been threated, more than once, by Greyback, he intends to make her his. He has threatened her once more, this time with a threat that unless she becomes his, he will hurt every single person she cares about. That's why she broke up with Sirius."

"But how is Greyback threatening her? He can't get in the castle, can he?" James asked.

Professor Century shook his head.

"No," he told them. "But Avery has apparent contact with him."

James snarled.

"That arrogant git," he hissed. "Why doesn't Dumbledore expel him? We should go and tell him!"

"With what proof, James?" Professor Century asked. "I'll lose this job for putting Veritaserum in a students' drink and unless you can prove with Willow being willing, that Avery has threatened her, then, I'm afraid there is nothing we can tell Dumbledore."

James growled.

"We've got to do something!" he cried. "We can't let Avery get away with this."

"He won't," Professor Century replied, a sly grin spreading across his face reminding James of Sirius. "Avery will pay for what happened, and you guys will be tailing Willow at every possible moment, the more we find out what's going on, the better."

James glanced at Remus and Peter who were both nodding in agreement.

"We won't let you down, sir," Peter squeaked causing Professor Century to give him a funny look before nodding and turning to the other two.

"I'll play my part, keep Willow active and engaged. Invite her over for tea every now and again." He said. "But it's up to you guys."

"Should we tell Sirius?" Remus asked. "I mean, he does deserve to know, right?"

Professor Century nodded.

"I agree," he said. "But, Sirius is not known to act rational in situations like these, so, for now, we should leave him out of this, until we have proof at least."

James, Remus and Peter nodded in agreement, they all knew what Sirius was like once he got going and most of the time it wasn't pretty.

Willow checked left and right as she snuck down the corridor towards the entrance hall, she had received a letter earlier that day from Nate asking her to meet her at Hogsmeade at midnight, and she had agreed.

Slipping silently down the stairs, she crept towards the entrance hall doors and gently eased them open, before checking around her and sliding out of the door and into the grounds.

Breaking into a run, she ran towards the Whomping Willow and grabbed a stick nearby, seeing the knob, she bode her time before leaping forwards and striking the knob, the tree immediately froze and Willow grinned, dropping the stick, before hurrying into the hole in the roots.

Entering the Shrieking Shack, she headed along the corridor and down some stairs before coming to the entrance to the shrieking shack in Hogsmeade, wriggling through the hole; she slipped silently into Hogsmeade, sparring a glance back at the shack.

Sirius had informed her off the secret passage there when they had been together and Willow had not forgotten it, and now, it was serving a purpose.

"Willow?"

Willow turned to see Nate, Brandon, Axel and Damien walking towards her.

"Everything alright?" Nate was concerned.

Willow felt tears well up in her eyes and she flung herself at Nate, who wrapped his arms around her, hugging her.

"Willow, what's the matter?" he asked, his voice hushed.

Willow just cried harder.

"Sirius and I broke up!" she wailed.

Nate pulled back and looked at her stunned.

"Why?" he asked. "Willow what happened?"

Willow sniffed.

"Greyback threatened me," she whispered. "Through a student."

Nate, Brandon, Axel and Damien looked horrified and Damien let out a low growl while Axel punched his fist.

"I'll murder that low-life." He muttered.

"You might get your chance," Brandon told him. "I smell another Werewolf among us."

"You do?" Willow asked.

Brandon nodded and Willow watched as he walked past her, his nose twitching as he sniffed. He continued to sniff behind her before his hand reached out and he plucked something from mid-air.

Willow let out a soft gasp as James, Remus and Peter were revealed. Peter looked terrified while both James and Remus looked stunned.

Brandon's eyes narrowed at the three of them causing Peter to let out a squeak of terror and hide behind both Remus and James.

"Don't," Willow said, walking up and placing a hand on Brandon's shoulder, causing him to look at her before backing away. "What are you guys doing here?" she asked looking at them.

"We followed you," James explained. "We saw you sneaking out, and concerned friends that we are, we followed."

Willow smiled tightly.

"While I appreciate your concern, I believe you can see I'm safe, go back." With that she turned away from them.

"We know what Greyback did," James told her. "We know all about his threat and all about Avery's role in it, what he did to Lily."

Willow whirled at this, her eyes widened.

"You do?" she asked. "How?"

"Professor Century slipped Veritaserum into your tea; he was really worried about you." Remus admitted.

Willow groaned.

"Willow?"

She turned to find Nate, Brandon, Axel and Damien looking at her.

"What happened? What exactly did he threaten you with?" Nate asked, his voice sounded thunderous.

"Yes, Willow," a new voice joined theirs. "Tell Nate what I did."

Willow let out a whimper as she recognised the voice and Nate, Brandon, Axel and Damien all turned, enforcing a protective barrier between the voice, Willow and her friends.

"What do want, Greyback?!" snarled Nate.

Fenrir Greyback stepped from the shadows, a sneer present on his face.

"I just want what I was promised, Nate." He told him. "A promise I intend to be kept." He looked past Nate at Willow who shrank back into James - who wrapped a protective arm around her while Remus shifted beside her, so that he too was protecting her should Greyback choose to pounce - and leered.

"I have to say, Willow," he said, "The smell of vanilla on your skin is intoxicating."

Willow whimpered and felt James grip his wand, Remus mirrored his movement while Nate, Brandon, Axel and Damien all growled at Greyback's comment.

"I'm warning you," Nate hissed, stepping towards Greyback and glowering down at him. "You go within fifty foot of her, and I won't hesitate to kill you."

Behind him, Brandon, Axel and Damien all cracked their fists, glaring at Greyback.

Greyback, far from being frightened, merely laughed.

"As if you could take me." He hissed.

It happened within seconds.

One moment Greyback was stood straight, the next he was on the floor, Nate's hands wrapped round his throat while Brandon, Axel and Damien all pinned him down.

"You think?" Nate hissed. "I won't hesitate to kill you, Fenrir."

Greyback snarled and struggled against their hold, but it only caused them to tighten their grip.

"I suggest you get out of here." Nate said, releasing him and rising.

The others followed and stared at Greyback; he too rose and growled at them.

"You wait till full moon," he said. "That girl will be mine!"

"BANG!"

Greyback flew back twenty feet, landing hard against the wooden fence that surrounded the Shrieking shack.

James had his wand out, it was pointed straight at Greyback and Willow had to say she had never seen him so furious. His face was extremely red and he was panting heavily, his knuckles white from the tight grip that he had on his wand which was shaking slightly as he glared down at Greyback.

"You will not touch, Willow." He hissed. "I won't allow it."

Greyback laughed.

"As if a boy like you could stop me." And before anyone could retort he was gone, aparating into the darkness.

Willow felt her knees buckle and she collapsed to the ground, tears flowing freely down her face. She immediately felt arms encircle her and Nate's voice was whispering soothing things in her ears.

"He can't hurt you," he murmured. "He can't hurt you."

Willow just buried her face in his shirt, sobbing heavily.

"Take her back to the castle." She heard Nate tell her friends before he released her only for her to be wrapped in strong arms and James' voice to replace his.

"Come on, Willow," he said. "A nice sleep will do you good."

She felt herself rise with James supporting her and they headed back towards the shrieking shack and back into Hogwarts.

She didn't remember the journey back to Gryffindor Tower she just remembered climbing the girls' dorm staircase up to the sixth year dorm, slipping into her bedroom, padding over to her bed, slipping behind the drapes and falling asleep crying her eyes out.

James woke up early the next morning, his night still filled with what had happened the night before. It finally all made sense. He understood why Willow had broken up with Sirius. Greyback was one hell of a scary creature; James had to admit that he had slightly feared for his life being there.

He glanced over at his best mate's bed to find the curtains still drawn and knew that Sirius was still asleep.

Sighing deeply, he crawled out of bed and headed towards the bathroom. The warm water of shower soothed his frazzled nerves and he came out feeling more relaxed than he had when he had entered the bathroom.

Exiting the bathroom, he found Remus already dressed. He glanced up as James exited the bathroom and smiled tightly.

"We need to tell him." He told James, gesturing to Sirius was still sleeping on his bed.

James nodded in agreement.

"I think Willow needs to tell him," he said. "But getting him to listen to her, well, that'll take some doing."

Remus nodded grimly.

"He has become more withdrawn since the breakup," he admitted. "But maybe, if he knew why, then he'd understand."

James shrugged.

"I hope so," he said. "Sirius finds it hard to trust people, and if they break his trust once, well, it's harder for him to trust them again. Look at his family background. I bet he trusted his parents until he learnt the truth, and he still hasn't gotten over Regulus' betrayal, and that was only a few months ago."

Remus sighed deeply and ran a hand through his light brown hair.

"I might have to remind him of our fourth year," he muttered. "If he brings up trust issues."

James smiled grimly as he remembered the incident in which Sirius had hinted at Snape as to what Remus actually was. Remus had refused to speak to Sirius for over three months; he had finally given in when Sirius had broken down crying in front of him and begged his forgiveness.

It had taken James a little while longer to forgive his best friend or what had happened, and it had only been at Remus' persuasiveness that he had accepted his best friend back, and, although it had taken a few weeks, they had resumed the relationship they had had before, and that was when James realised that he could never stay mad at Sirius, he was his best friend – his brother.

Running a hand through his already messy jet black hair, he glanced at the sleeping form of his best mate and sighed.

Now for the hard bit, getting the truth out to Sirius and getting him to believe Willow.

**A/N: So James, Remus and Peter know the truth. All it we need is for Sirius to know and then, well, hopefully, his and Willow's relationship will mend.**

**Hope you liked the chapter, and let me know what you think with a review.**

**Thanks,**

**Wacky Wizard **


	30. Trust

**Disclaimer: You should know by now.**

**Summary: **When Sirius fell through the veil, he didn't die, but was instead sent back in time, to be more precise, his last year of Hogwarts. Now the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor he finds himself disliking his younger self but drawn to a sixth year student by the name of Willow Briar. But nothing can happen between a student and a teacher, right? SBXOC

Chapter Twenty nine – Trust

It had been a week since the Greyback incident and Willow had taken to avoiding James, Remus and Peter whenever possible, spending her time between the library and occasionally popping in to see Lily who was still in hospital under observation, hopefully, she would be released soon, if not today.

At the moment Willow was sat in the library studying when three shadows fell across the page she was reading.

"When I'm done Isabella, I promise I'll come and play gobstones with you, Lacretia and Mary. So can you three, please leave me be." She said without glancing up.

"As interesting as that sounds," James Potter's voice said. "That's not what we came to talk to you about."

She glanced up to find James, Remus and Lily stood before her and groaned, she should have known she couldn't avoid them forever. James was like a dog with a bone, once he had something, he just couldn't let it go.

Lily immediately slipped into the seat beside her.

"Oh Willow," she said, sounding tearful, "why didn't you tell us about Greyback? We could have gone to Dumbledore, sorted everything out."

Willow sighed and closed her book before turning to look at all three of them.

"While I appreciate your concern for me," she said. "And your help the other night," she added glancing at James and Remus. "You don't understand what was going through my mind. I refused his offer at first, and then Lily got hurt, badly. That's when I knew I didn't have an option that he wasn't messing around. That this was real."

She took a deep breath before continuing.

"I love Sirius with all my heart, I truly do. But I am not willing to risk his life, or anyone else's just for the sake of telling Dumbledore. He may be able to stop Avery, but he can't stop Greyback. You don't know Greyback like I do; he will stop at nothing to get what he wants. I am not willing to put the people I care about lives at risk. Look at what happened to my father, look at what happened to Sirius and you Lils," she said turning to Lily, tears in her eyes. "You think I want that to happen again? I'm better off being alone."

With that she rose from her seat, shouldered her bag and headed out of the library. James, Remus and Lily watched her go before turning to one another.

"We have to tell Sirius," Lily said. "Even with or without Willow. He needs to know."

James and Remus nodded in agreement.

"But how?" Remus asked. "You know how unstable Sirius can be when he gets angry. Who's to say he doesn't flip out and try to kill Avery?"

"Well," Lily said rising, "If it comes to that, we'll just have to do our best to stop him."

* * *

Sirius sat on his bed, reading his Herbology textbook. He had taken to getting on with his homework rather a lot to distract himself from thoughts of Willow.

It had been just over two weeks she had broken up with him and she still invaded his thoughts. He still loved her, he always would do.

Sighing in frustration, he flipped his book shut and slid of his bed. He was fed up of this empty feeling he had, he wanted to know why Willow had broken up with him, she had never really given him a proper excuse, and Sirius had decided that now was the time.

He had just crossed the room when the dormitory door opened and James, Remus, Peter and Lily piled in, all looking slightly flustered.

"Where the hell have you been?" James demanded, glaring at him.

Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"In here." He said.

James eyed him before turning to Peter.

"I thought you said you checked in here, Peter." He said.

"I did," squeaked Peter. "He must have been in the bathroom or something."

James rolled his eyes before turning back to Sirius who had now folded his arms and was looking at the four of them expectantly.

"May I enquire as to why all four of you are so desperate to find me?" He asked.

All four of them exchanged a look before James broke the silence.

"It's about Willow." He said.

Sirius felt his heart clench and panic flooded through him.

"Is she alright?" he asked. "She's not hurt is she?"

"No," James told him. "Although she did come close the other night," he added as an undertone causing Sirius' eyes to narrow.

"It's about why she broke up with you." Lily informed him.

Sirius blinked.

"What about it?" he asked, keeping his voice light.

Lily chewed her lip nervously and glanced at James, Remus and Peter. Remus took over the story at this point.

"You remember Fenrir Greyback?" he asked.

Sirius snarled at the name.

"What about him?!" he demanded before his eyes widened. "Has he hurt Willow? I'll kill him."

He started towards the door but James, Remus, Peter and Lily blocked it.

"You're not going after Greyback," James told him firmly. "You're going to listen."

Sirius pursed his lips and folded his arms.

"Fine." He said harshly.

Remus once again took up the explanation.

"Well, Willow was contacted by Greyback. Basically, he threatened to hurt all her friends if she didn't break up with you." He told him. "At first she refused, but after what happened to Lily, she felt guilty, and so, decided that she should break up with you." He looked at Sirius whose eyes had widened in surprise. "She didn't want too, but she didn't have a choice. She couldn't bear to lose you, not so close to having lost her father."

Sirius ran his hands through his hair, unable to believe what he was hearing.

"She broke up with me to protect me?" he asked.

All four of them nodded.

"Willow loves you," Lily said. "You can see that every time she looks at you, and it's the same every time you look at her. You survive off each other. It's been killing her, what she did. But she didn't see another option." She reached out and touched his shoulder. "She loves you so much, she'd rather you hated her and lived than loved her and died."

Sirius just nodded.

"I think I need some time alone." He whispered.

James, Remus, Peter and Lily exchanged a glance before James nodded.

"Take as much time as you need," he said, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "We'll be down in the common room if you need us."

Sirius nodded and watched as his friends turned and left the dorm before sinking onto the nearest bed, his head in his hands.

This certainly put things in a new perspective.

Professor Century's door was open and he was sat at his desk reading what appeared to be essays. Raising a fist, he knocked on the door. Professor Century's head moved upwards and he blinked several times before sitting back in his chair, a concerned look in his eyes as he surveyed him.

"Everything alright, Mr Black?" he asked as Sirius entered Professor Century's office.

Sirius nodded and sank into a chair across from his Professor.

"I wanted to talk to you," he said before clearing his throat. "I know the real reason why Willow broke up with me."

Professor Century shifted, leaning forwards and looked at Sirius, his eyes filled with kindness.

"And?" he asked.

"I don't know," Sirius replied. "I love Willow, I do. But, I've come from a family background that, well, it isn't the best family to come from, hell, it's the worst family to come from."

"I know about your family past, Mr Black." Professor Century said. "I came from a similar one myself. My parents, well, they didn't appreciate anyone who wasn't, well, the same as them. They believed themselves to be of a higher ark, and looked down on those, who weren't as pure."

Sirius noted the disgusted tone in which he spoke of his parents and suddenly felt as though an understanding had passed between the two of them.

"The question you have to ask yourself, Mr Black," Professor Century continued. "Is not whether or not you can trust Miss Briar, but if you trust her. Because," he added at Sirius' confused look, "if you trust her, then you need not fear whether or not she can be trusted."

Sirius nodded thoughtfully.

Did he trust Willow?

_Well, she's managed to keep the fact that Remus is a werewolf a secret._ A small voice in the back of his head commented.

_But can you trust her?_ Another voice commented. _How do you know she's not going to break your heart again?_

_You don't,_ the first voice replied._ But we trust her, and we love her. And, frankly, that's all that matters. Besides, she was trying to protect us, doesn't that mean something?_

Sirius nodded, smiling.

Of course it meant something, it meant she really loved him. That she cared about him. She wasn't his father, she didn't feel the need to act as though he was invisible and she certainly wasn't his mother. She didn't act as though she hated him, she didn't try and curse him, she didn't spout foul things about his friends to him or to anyone else, she didn't insult him and she certainly didn't try to hurt him.

Willow was the opposite of everything his family stood for. Sure, James, Remus and Peter had been his family and James' parents had taken him in, but they couldn't love him like Willow did. They couldn't hold him and tell him everything would be alright – well, they could, but it'd be slightly weird – they couldn't make him feel wanted and safe the way Willow did and they certainly couldn't whisper the words "I love you" and make him feel the way he did when Willow did it.

Willow was everything to him, he knew that in how much it had hurt when she had dumped him. He still wore the ring, and he still had every intention of giving her the other ring. Willow was everything to him, and she had been willing to put up with Greyback, just to protect him and his friends.

He loved her.

"I'm guessing you've got your answer." Professor Century said softly causing Sirius to look up to see him smiling at him.

Sirius nodded.

"Yeah, I have," he said, rising from his seat. "Thanks, Professor. For everything."

Professor Century smiled.

"No need to thank me, Sirius," he replied. "I'm just happy to help."

Sirius nodded once more before running off to find Willow. He had to tell her.

* * *

Sirius watched his younger self run out of the door and smiled to himself. He may not have thought it at first, but falling into the veil was the best thing he'd ever done. He had never seen himself so happy.

He sighed and settled back into his seat, glancing at the photo frame on his desk. In it was the picture of him, James, Remus and Lily. It had been at Harry's first Christmas and he held the little boy in his arms, grinning down at him while beside him Lily watched smiling, her head resting on James' chest who had an arm wrapped round her as he too smiled at Sirius and his son. Remus sat the other side of Sirius and he too was smiling as he watched Sirius interact with the child. It was the picture he carried around with him since it had been taken, it was always in his robe pocket or somewhere on him and he was glad he had fallen through the veil with it.

He smiled as he watched Harry grab onto his finger and his picture's face lit up at it before sighing and running a hand through his hair. While he had changed his future, hopefully for the better, it was a shame he couldn't change everyone future.

**A/N: Another chapter done and dusted. So, Sirius and Lily know the truth. Willow is refusing to tell Sirius because she's scared of Greyback. She loves Sirius, she really does and she wants to protect him as long as she can, even if it breaks her heart in the first place.**

**It took me a while to write this chapter, I write them in advance, but I'm glad it did, because, otherwise, I don't think it'd have turned out the way it did.**

**Hope you liked it, and remember…**

**Review!**

**Thanks,**

**Wacky Wizard **


	31. Avery's Downfall

**Disclaimer: You should know by now.**

**Summary: **When Sirius fell through the veil, he didn't die, but was instead sent back in time, to be more precise, his last year of Hogwarts. Now the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor he finds himself disliking his younger self but drawn to a sixth year student by the name of Willow Briar. But nothing can happen between a student and a teacher, right? SBXOC

Chapter Thirty – Avery's downfall

Willow stood at the ledge of the Astronomy tower balcony and looked up at the starry sky. It had only just gone eight, but already the sun had set and night had fallen, thankfully it was a clear night and she could see the stars twinkling in the sky. She sighed deeply as she watched them. It must be easy to be a star, she thought, you just have to sit in the sky and burn brightly, not a care in the world and nothing to worry yourself about.

Sighing once more, she pushed herself away from the balcony and moved back inside with the intention to head back to Gryffindor Tower, but a voice from the darkness stopped her in her tracks.

"So," the soft voice stated, sending hairs on the back of her neck on end. "You thought you'd tell?"

She turned, gripping her wand to find Avery stood behind her, an evil sneer on his face.

"Tut, tut," he clucked. "It'll cost you, Willow. Who shall I curse this time? Perhaps the fat tag along, maybe even the prefect, or perhaps the Head Boy?"

Willow swallowed, her breathing becoming heavier causing Avery's smirk to widen.

"Or," he said, leaning in. "the guy you love."

"I don't think so."

Avery whirled and Willow too glanced over his shoulder to watch as someone stepped from the shoulders.

Tall, muscular, his mouth drawn into a tight line, his fathomless grey eyes narrowed, a lock of hair falling into them and his wand poised, Sirius stepped from the shadows.

"Well, if it isn't the blood traitor." Avery sneered. "I think Bellatrix would have loved to be here."

Sirius snarled and sparks flew out of his wand causing Avery to flinch slightly.

"You want to test me, Avery?" he growled.

Avery's eyes narrowed and he drew his own wand.

"Oh no you don't." A new voice said and before Avery could re-act his wand had flown out of his hand and another hand had reached out and caught it.

Someone else emerged from the shadows. Tall, muscular, his messy jet black hair stuck up all over the place, the rim of his glasses glimmered in the candlelight while his hazel eyes flashed with anger.

"Should have known you'd follow Black, Potter." Avery snarled.

"Then I guess you'd remember the rest of us would be here." Another voice said and Willow turned as Remus emerged from the shadows followed by Peter and Lily, whose dark red hair was falling over her face, she pushed it back, her wand pointed at Avery, her emerald eyes flashing.

"Five against one?" Avery asked. "Well, that's hardly fair."

"You're right it isn't."

All of them turned this time as Professor Century came into view, behind him stood Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore. Professor McGonagall looked furious, but it was nothing compared to Professor Dumbledore.

Tall as he was, Dumbledore never looked imposing, but at this moment he did. His mouth was drawn into the tightest line ever imaginable, his blue eyes flashed darkly behind his half-moon spectacles as he stared down at Avery who seemed to shrink back into himself.

"I never," Professor McGonagall started but stopped, seeming unable to speak due to anger. "Albus?" she asked.

Willow watched as Professor Dumbledore said nothing but stared at Avery, who seemed to grow more uncomfortable every second.

"Is it true?" His voice was calm compared to the anger on his face.

Avery didn't answer but looked at the floor.

Professor Dumbledore said nothing but briefly closed his eyes.

"You are hereby expelled from Hogwarts, Mr Avery," he told him.

Avery looked up, stunned – and for the tiniest second, Willow felt sorry for him.

"I will not have you threatening other students," Professor Dumbledore continued, his eyes now open. "You will stay for this night, and in the morning, you will pack. Professor Slughorn will supervise you and bring you to my office, where your parents will be waiting to take you home."

Avery's mouth drew into a line as he glared angrily at Dumbledore.

Professor Dumbledore, on the other hand, seemed unconcerned.

"Go back to your house, Professor McGonagall will escort you there."

Avery didn't reply but did as he was told, Professor McGonagall following angrily behind while Professor Century hovered behind Dumbledore, who now turned to face Sirius and the others.

"I thank you for your loyalty," he told them. "To your friends, to Hogwarts and to me. However, I would like to see each and every one of you in my office, tomorrow at ten o'clock sharp."

They all nodded and Willow chewed her lip worriedly as Dumbledore turned to her.

"Are you alright, Miss Briar?" he asked.

Willow nodded.

"Fine, Professor," she said.

"Miss Briar," Willow looked up to find Professor Dumbledore stood before her, his eyes filled with concern. "I promise you, that Avery can threaten you no more, and neither will Greyback. Your godfather told me everything." He added at Willow's confused look. "You are a brave girl, Miss Briar, and Gryffindor was the right house for you." He smiled at her and he smiled back before turning back to face the others.

"I suggest you return your common rooms," he told them. "Everything will be dealt with in the morn, good night."

"Good night, Professor." They chorused before Dumbledore turned away.

Professor Century nodded to them all before turning and following after Dumbledore.

Willow watched them go before turning and facing the others.

"Thank you," she said, tears welling up in her eyes.

Lily smiled, tears welling up in her own eyes, before she hugged Willow.

"I'm just glad it's over." She said.

Willow nodded and hugged her back before James embraced her after Lily had let go.

"Your safe, Willow," he told her, pulling back. "We're here, if you ever need protecting."

"It's what friends do." Remus added, smiling at her. Beside him, Peter nodded in agreement.

"It's what loved one's do." Sirius added.

Willow turned to face him.

His face was impassive and she felt butterflies beat against her stomach.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm so sorry," tears spilled down her eyes. "I'm really sorry." She closed her eyes as the tears became too great for her and immediately felt arms around her, she buried her face in his chest, taking in his musky scent.

"I understand," Sirius whispered, kissing the top of her head. "I really do." He pulled back and wiped away her tears. "And I love you."

Willow smiled through her tears.

"I love you too." She whispered.

Sirius grinned before leaning down and capturing her lips in a searing, passionate kiss. She returned it, gripping his shoulders tightly and pulling him closer to him. His hands tightened their grip on her, pulling her into him so that they were touching.

"Well," James' voice interrupted loudly. "As glad as I am that you two are back together, I'd rather not see it in public, thank you."

Willow pulled out embarrassed while Sirius let out a bark of laughter and shrugged.

"Sorry, mate," he apologised. "But you got to do what you got to do." He glanced at Willow, his arm wrapped round her shoulder while hers wrapped round his waist. "And I had to do that."

Willow smiled at him before turning to face the others.

"Thank you," she said.

They nodded smiling before all six of them turned and headed back towards Gryffindor Tower.

Sirius couldn't help but smile as he walked towards Gryffindor tower with his friends while his arm was wrapped around the woman he loved shoulder's. He knew everything, and what was even better was that Dumbledore knew everything and hadn't hesitated to expel Avery when he had found out.

Dumbledore may be a kind, gentle soul, but Sirius thought he was the greatest wizard that had ever lived. He had battled and defeated Grindelwald, and he was the only person Voldemort feared, after all, if he didn't fear him he would have taken over Hogwarts by now.

They entered the common room via the Fat Lady and settled themselves into the seats nearest the fire. James and Lily occupied the couch with Remus beside them while Peter sank onto the floor and Sirius took the armchair, pulling Willow into his lap. She looked up at him, an eyebrow raised and he grinned sheepishly causing her to smile before dropping her head onto his shoulder.

"Well," James said stretching. "I'm glad that's over."

Lily, Remus, Peter and Sirius nodded in agreement.

"I'm glad Dumbledore expelled Avery," Lily commented. "Maybe it'll show any other want to be Death Eaters, that Dumbledore doesn't accept you-know-who's supporters in his school."

"Fear of the name only increases fear of the thing itself." Willow murmured from Sirius' chest.

"Excuse me?" Lily asked.

Willow shifted, sitting up in Sirius' lap.

"Dumbledore said that fear of the name only increases fear of the thing itself. If you can't say Voldemort's name, it means you become more scared of him."

Lily blinked.

"Oh," she said. "Well, I, it's just." She sighed deeply. "I've never been able to say his name, he creeps me out. Besides, if we ever did meet, he'd kill me, purely because of my blood."

From beside her James took her hand in his.

"You listen to me Lily Evans," he said, causing her to face him. "Voldemort will not touch you. I will not allow him too. You may be a muggleborn but I'd love you whoever your parents were. I wouldn't care if your mother was a banshee and your father was a vampire, I'd love you anyway. I'd rather die than live without you, and if Voldemort tries to touch you, he'd have to get through me."

"And me," Sirius piped up.

"Me too." Remus agreed while Peter and Willow nodded in agreement.

"We love you, Lils," Willow said. "And we'd do anything to protect you, you know that. Hell, you've just witnessed it."

Lily laughed slightly at this comment and smiled at them all.

"Thank you," she murmured. "I'd do the same for you."

James smiled and kissed her forehead before turning to Sirius, a grin on his face.

"And I believe, Padfoot over here, has, erm, something to do?" he widened his eyes meaningfully causing Sirius to frown.

James rolled his eyes in response before holding up his hand wiggling it so that the Potter crested ring his Dad had given him during the summer flashed.

"Oh, yeah," Sirius said, remembering. "One moment."

With that he placed Willow on the seat before hurrying up the stairs to the seventh year dorm and scrambling through his bedside stand, searching for the small box which held the promise ring.

Eventually finding it, he hurried back down to the common room to find them all waiting for him. Willow was eyeing him curiously and Sirius started towards her, his face flushed with excitement and nerves beating in his stomach.

"Find it?" Willow asked, looking at him.

Sirius nodded before kneeling down next to her causing her eyes to widen while Lily gasped across the room.

"Sirius, what are you doing?" Willow asked.

Sirius ignored her and held out the box. She eyed him for several moments before reaching out with a shaking hand and taking it from him.

He watched as she slowly prized it open.

"Sirius." She gasped.

"It's not an engagement ring," Sirius told her quickly. "It's a promise ring. To show that we're committed to each other, and that, maybe, someday in the future, we will get married."

Willow just stared at the ring and Sirius watched as she studied it before looking at him.

"Am I'm supposed to put it on myself?" she whispered.

Sirius grinned and took the box from her, plucking the ring from it and slipping it onto her left ring finger. She admired it for several moments before turning to face him.

"Where did you get it from?" she asked.

"My cousin gave them me, she and Ted had one before they got married." He gestured to the plain silver ring on his ring finger.

Willow smiled and admired the ring before a horrified look came over her face and she turned to face Sirius.

"How long have you had these?" she asked.

"A while, why?" Sirius asked.

Willow groaned.

"That's what you were going to ask me when I broke up with you," she muttered. "Oh, Merlin," she looked at Sirius. "I'm so, so sorry. Jeez, I'm surprised you didn't throw them out."

"It was a thought," Sirius admitted. "But James convinced me to keep them." He gestured to James who grinned and shrugged.

"I knew there wasn't something right." He told her.

Willow smiled at him.

"I'm glad you did." She said before slipping off the sofa and sitting next to Sirius. "I love you."

Sirius grinned.

"I love you, too." He replied before accepting the kiss she bestowed upon him.

Finally, everything was right.

**A/N: Everything's sorted out now. I think this is the longest story I've ever written and I'm not entirely sure if I should write a few more chapters or just do and epilogue.**

**Let me know what you think with a review.**

**Thanks again,**

**Wacky Wizard **


	32. Order of the Phoenix

**Disclaimer: You should know by now.**

**Summary: **When Sirius fell through the veil, he didn't die, but was instead sent back in time, to be more precise, his last year of Hogwarts. Now the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor he finds himself disliking his younger self but drawn to a sixth year student by the name of Willow Briar. But nothing can happen between a student and a teacher, right? SBXOC

Chapter Thirty One – Order of the Phoenix

The next day the school was abuzz with the news that Avery had been expelled. Apparently, some third year Ravenclaw had seen him being led down the stairs with his trunk, his sour looking parents before him, and the news had spread like wildfire.

"See, he's gone," Sirius told Willow, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. There's nothing to fear anymore."

Willow eyed him and flicked at his hand causing him to release her with a hiss of pain.

"I don't know," she said. "You're pretty scary in the morning."

Sirius gaped at her as she laughed before swinging her hair over her shoulder, kissing his cheek and walking down the corridor, laughing as she went.

"Bummer that, mate." James commented from beside him, trying to hide a grin before following after Willow.

Sirius watched them go before following after pouting. Peter caught him moments later.

"What's the matter, Sirius?" he asked, glancing up at him.

"Nothing." Sirius mumbled.

Peter just nodded before licking his lips and twisting his hands.

"What do you think Professor Dumbledore wants with us?" he asked.

Sirius shrugged.

"No idea, mate," he said, clapping a hand on Peter's shoulder. "Do you think I should get a tattoo?"

Peter blinked.

"I thought you already had one," he said.

"True," Sirius mused, "But I was thinking of getting another one. Here," he pointed down the side of his rib.

Peter shrugged.

"What would you get?" he asked.

Sirius pushed his hair back before replying.

"Willow," he said.

"As in a willow tree?" Peter asked.

Sirius rolled his eyes.

"No, as in Willow's name, dimwit." He replied.

Peter looked upset but Sirius just shook his head as they entered the Great Hall and headed towards the Gryffindor table.

"What took you so long?" Remus asked, looking up from the paper he was reading as the two of them sat down.

"I was thinking of getting another tattoo." Sirius admitted as he piled food onto his plate.

Across from him Lily looked at him curiously.

"You have a tattoo?" she asked.

Sirius nodded, grinning slyly.

"Why, want to see it Evans?"

Lily rolled her eyes at him.

"Just curious," she replied "What is it?" she added as she took a sip of her pumpkin juice.

"Our names," Sirius said. "Mine, James, Remus and Peter's." his grin widened. "I was thinking of adding your name, Evans, but I thought James might have a problem with that."

Lily pursed her lips at him.

"James wouldn't be the only one who'd have a problem with that." A voice said from behind causing Sirius to cringe before turning, a grin on his face, to find Willow stood behind him, an eyebrow raised and an amused smile playing on her lips. "Well?" she asked, slipping between him and Peter.

"He's thinking of getting another tattoo." James supplied.

Willow nodded.

"Where?" she asked. "I mean you've already got your friend's names on the side, here." She reached over and ran a finger down the right side of his ribs.

Sirius nodded, taking her hand and threading his fingers through hers, a grin on his face.

"I was thinking of getting your name tattooed on the other side," he admitted. "But maybe, I should get it tattooed here." He placed their intertwined hands over his heart.

Willow smiled.

"I was thinking of adding to my collection." She murmured, lightly tracing over her wrist.

"How many have you got?" James gasped, having just chocked on his pumpkin juice.

Willow looked thoughtful.

"Three," she said. "One on each of my wrists," she pulled back the sleeves of her robes to expose two Chinese symbols. "That one means love," she pointed to the symbol on her left wrist, "and that means peace." She pointed to the symbol on her right. "On my left ankle, I've got a daisy chain with my mum's name inked into it." She paused before tapping her shoulder. "I was thinking of getting my Dad's name here, or here," she ran a finger down the left side of her rib.

"We should get them done together." Sirius suggested.

Willow shrugged.

"Maybe," she yawned and glanced at her watch. "Oh, I've got to go. Promised I'd meet Isabella in the library to work on our Transfiguration project." She rose from her chair, gave Sirius a kiss and headed out of the Great Hall.

Sirius watched her go contentedly before turning back to his breakfast.

"Um, excuse me, Sirius?"

Sirius blinked and turned to find a young Ravenclaw girl, wearing rather a lot of make-up it had to be said, chewing her lip as she looked at him.

"Can I help you?" Sirius asked.

"Be nice." Lily hissed at him from across the table.

Sirius shot a glare at her before turning to face the Ravenclaw.

"Are you and Briar going back out?" she asked. "Cause if you aren't, I'm available if you want."

Sirius stared at her before opening her mouth, only for him to be interrupted by another voice.

"He's taken." Lily snapped, glaring at the Ravenclaw. "His girlfriends called Willow and they're quite happy, thank you."

The Ravenclaw raised an eyebrow.

"I heard she broke his heart," she told Lily. "I was just seeing if he needed it mended." She winked at Sirius causing his eyes to widen before he too rose from his seat.

"While I thank you for your concern," he told her, forcing his voice to be calm. "Willow and I are perfectly happy, now if you don't mind, I have a meeting to get too." And with that he headed out of the Great Hall, his friends hastened to follow, Lily making sure to wrap an arm around James' waist in case the Ravenclaw got any ideas.

"Can you believe the nerve of her?!" Lily asked as they walked, she was really angry, her face had flushed red and her green eyes were flashing. "I mean, really, what the hell was she thinking? Did she not see you and Willow sat next to each other? Honestly!"

From beside her, James chuckled.

"Chill, Lils," he told her. "Pads has always had girls on him like that, although, to be fair, he's usually better at spotting and avoiding them."

Sirius glared.

"I was distracted." He retorted. "She got me when my guard was down."

James just smirked before wrapping an arm around Lily's shoulder who then threaded her fingers through his as they headed towards Dumbledore's office.

"You don't think we're in trouble?" Peter asked as they walked there. "I mean, for last night?"

Sirius let out a bark of laughter and slung an arm around Peter's shoulder.

"Of course not!" he cried. "You heard what he said, thanking us for being so loyal and all that. He probably just wants to thank us or something."

Peter nodded but still looked unconvinced.

"I don't think we're in trouble, Peter," Remus told him kindly. "Dumbledore probably want to talk to us about the incident, find out exactly what went on."

"Then why didn't he ask for Willow?" Peter asked. "She was the one who was blackmailed."

Remus looked thoughtful for a moment before replying.

"If her godfather told Dumbledore, then he probably already knows, he just wants to hear our side, don't worry about it."

Peter nodded and fell silent as they reached the stone gargoyle.

"Don't tell me you're in trouble again, Mr Black?" the gargoyle said, eyeing him. "Or that you and Mr Potter have somehow managed to drag the rest of your friends into your mess, including," he added, eyeing Lily, "Miss Evans. I really thought you were doing so well."

Sirius grinned.

"We're not in trouble, or," he added thoughtfully, "at least I don't think we are."

The gargoyle raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"Do you have a password?" he asked.

"Gumballs." James answered.

The gargoyle stepped aside.

"Until next time, Mr Black."

Sirius nodded and stepped onto the revolving staircase with his friends which carried them up to the door of Dumbledore's office. James, who was nearest, knocked three times.

"Come in." the deep, calm voice of their headmaster sounded.

James opened the door and all five of them trooped in to find that the office was not empty.

Professor Dumbledore sat behind his desk while several other chairs were occupied before him. Professor's McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout and Century occupied four of them while the rest were filled with people he didn't know or vaguely recognised. Mad Eye Moody was immediately recognisable, his blue eye was spinning around and Sirius noticed Lily shrink into James and the two, tall, red headed Prewett Twins waved at James and Sirius from where they were stood by the fireplace. Both James and Sirius nodded in acknowledgement before turning to face Professor Dumbledore who had risen to greet them.

"Mr Black, Mr Potter, Mr Lupin, Mr Pettigrew, and, of course, Miss Evans," he said, nodding at them all one by one, "Welcome to the Order of the Phoenix."

Sirius looked at James who shrugged before turning to face Dumbledore.

"You are probably wondering why you are here," Dumbledore said, a twinkle in his eye. "So, I shall explain. The order of the Phoenix is an organisation, created by me, to defend against Lord Voldemort," several people in the room shuddered including Peter beside Sirius, "I have asked you here, because I wish to know if you would join."

"Of course!" James and Sirius cried eagerly while Remus and Lily nodded. Peter looked apprehensive for several moments, before he too, nodded.

Dumbledore beamed at them all.

"Excellent," he said. "Of course, you can't officially join until you've left school, but I think you'll be able to sit on this meeting, just to get to know you're future order members." He gestured to the rest of the room. "Of course, these are only a few of them, several are on missions and others are with their families. It is just an initiation meeting after all," his eyes twinkled. "The Mr Prewett's were quite insistent on coming."

From the fireplace, the two red headed boys grinned.

"Of course we were," one of them said, and Sirius knew it to be Gideon, he had always been the more boisterous of the two. "We couldn't wait to see our two favourite pranksters." He grinned at James and Sirius who grinned back.

"And that must be the lovely Lily Evans you used to talk about, James." Fabian, the quieter of the two said, smiling kindly at Lily who smiled shyly back. "You've done well, James."

James beamed, looking extremely pleased.

"I'm not the only one who's got a girlfriend," he told them. "Sirius, here," he jerked a thumb at Sirius, "got himself one to."

"And I thought you'd sworn of girls." Gideon said, grinning.

Sirius shrugged.

"This one's different." He replied.

"You gonna give us a name then?" Fabian asked.

"Willow Briar." Sirius told them. "She's a sixth year at the moment."

Both Fabian and Gideon beamed.

"Congratulations, Sirius." Fabian told him.

"Yeah, looks like the lone wolf's finally settled down." Gideon added, grinning.

Sirius grinned back before taking a seat that Dumbledore had conjured up for them and allowing himself to be introduced to the rest of the Order.

**A/N: Another chapter, over and done with. I thought an initiation into the Order would be a nice way to round this chapter off with. Although, rather random topic of tattoo's, but never mind.**

**Hope you liked it.**

**Leave a review!**

**Wacky Wizard **


	33. Kidnapped

**Disclaimer: You should know by now.**

**Summary: **When Sirius fell through the veil, he didn't die, but was instead sent back in time, to be more precise, his last year of Hogwarts. Now the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor he finds himself disliking his younger self but drawn to a sixth year student by the name of Willow Briar. But nothing can happen between a student and a teacher, right? SBXOC

Chapter Thirty two – Kidnapped

"Wow, I can't believe that happened." Sirius said excitedly as they headed back to Gryffindor Tower having just finished in the order meeting.

From beside him, James nodded in agreement.

"It's pretty cool." He said. "I can't wait to graduate, knowing there's something out there resisting Voldemort's movement."

"I wonder if he'll let Willow join," Sirius mused as they continued.

"Let me join what?"

Sirius turned to see Willow walking up the corridor behind them carrying a large pile of books.

"What's with all the books?" Peter asked, eyeing them.

Willow smiled and held them out to Sirius, who raised an eyebrow at them.

"There for you," she told him. "All of you. You've got your N.E.W.T's in what? Five weeks? I thought you could use them to study, there really quite useful."

Sirius groaned and turned to James.

"Why on earth did we have to fall in love with book worms," he said.

Both Lily and Willow rolled their eyes at him while James grinned and wrapped an arm around Lily's shoulder.

"Cause we knew they'd help us study." He replied.

"Just take the damn books, Sirius," Willow said, loading them onto him. "There heavy and I've been carrying them from the library."

"Shouldn't have got so many then," Sirius grumbled as they headed back towards Gryffindor Tower.

Willow ignored him and stretched her arms.

"You never did answer my question," she commented.

Sirius looked at her.

"What question?" he asked.

Willow shook her head.

"The one about what Dumbledore would let me join." She informed him.

"Oh, erm," Sirius glanced at James for help but Remus stepped in.

"Dumbledore said we couldn't tell anyone," he told her. "It's a secret, but I'm sure he'll tell you about it soon, once you've turned eighteen."

Willow shrugged.

"Alright," she said. "If Dumbledore says, Bowtruckle," she added causing the Fat Lady to swing open and allow them entrance to the Gryffindor common room. "You best get started on those books, Sirius." She added as she headed towards the girls dorm. "I'm just going to get my homework," and with that she disappeared up the stairs.

Sirius watched her go before dropping the books on the table.

"Jeez," he muttered, rubbing his arms. "What she'd do? Pick the heaviest books in the library?"

James laughed and settled comfortably into the couch while Remus and Peter sank into respected armchairs; Lily was on the opposite side of the room talking to Marlene McKinnon and Dorcas Meadows about something or other.

"Honestly," Sirius muttered sinking into the sofa beside James. "There is no way in hell I need to revise that much."

"Better to revise than not to have revised at all," Remus quipped, skimming through the books. "Wow, she's really put a lot of thought and effort into these books," he eyed Sirius. "You should be thankful that she cares so much."

Sirius glared at him.

"Don't guilt trip me." He muttered.

Remus shrugged, selected a book and settled back into the armchair to read it.

"Come on, mate," James said, leaning forwards and rifling through the books. "At least put some effort in, or pretend that you care."

Sirius glared at him but James just stared back causing Sirius to sigh and lean forwards to have a look at the books himself. He had just picked a particularly interesting looking one about DADA when there was a loud, high pitched scream that caused the whole common room to fall silent.

"What was that?" Peter squeaked, looking round for the source of the noise.

James and Sirius didn't reply, sitting silently while Remus sat up straight, on high alert. The scream sounded again, this time sounding more terrified than the last.

"That came from the girls' dorms," James muttered, glancing at Sirius.

"Willow!" they cried together, jumping up and heading towards the stairs.

"Whoa!" Lily had leapt forwards and was blocking the entrance to the girls' dorm. "You can't go up there."

"Willow's up there," Sirius snarled. "I'm not just leaving here there," the scream sounded again and Sirius made to shove past Lily but James held him back.

"She's right," he said. "It'll turn into a slide if we do, and then there's no way anyone can help Willow."

"I'll go up," Lily told them. "You guys go and get Professor McGonagall."

James and Sirius both nodded and set off at a sprint out of the portrait hole, towards Professor McGonagall's office leaving Lily to head up the stairs alone. She reached the sixth year girls dorms and heard scuffling inside, pressing her ear against the door, she listened hard but couldn't make out any other noise.

"Willow?" she called. "Willow, is everything alright in there? Willow?"

Silence fell and Lily reached for the doorknob, twisting it. It was locked.

Knowing there was only one thing for it, Lily pointed her wand at the knob, it clicked and Lily turned the handle, allowing herself entrance to the sixth year girls dorm.

The sight that met her made her gasp in horror.

Willow lay on the floor, unconscious while around her, the room was a mess. Bed hangings had been ripped apart and pages of books littered the floor. It looked as though a bomb had landed in the room.

Hurrying towards her friend, Lily gasped once more as she noticed the blood seeping from a gash in Willow's neck.

The door creaked behind her before snapping shut and Lily turned, her eyes widening at the man that stood there.

He was big and rangy looking with matted dark hair, he was leering showing yellow teeth and Lily nearly balked at the smell coming from him. It was sweat and blood.

"Guess I've got two little pretties to play with." He mused and before Lily could react, he pounced.

* * *

Professor McGonagall was sat in her office, grading first year's essays when the door of her office burst open. Pursing her lips, she glanced up to find both Sirius Black and James Potter stood there, both were panting heavily as they stumbled across to her.

"Black, Potter," she said sharply, "What is the meaning of this?"

"Professor," James panted, clutching his knees, "You've got to come quickly. There's something wrong…"

"It's Willow," Sirius continued, pushing his hair back from his face. "We heard her scream."

"Lily sent us to get you." James finished.

Professor McGonagall stared at them both before rising from her seat and striding out of her office and towards Gryffindor Tower. James and Sirius trailed along behind her, practically running to keep up with her strides.

"Bowtruckle," she told the fat lady sharply, who immediately swung open to allow her entrance, and stepped inside the Gryffindor common room to find them a small crowd at the bottom of the girls' staircase.

"What's going on?" she barked.

Several first years jumped at the sound of her voice, and Gwen Jones, the fifth year prefect answered.

"We don't know," she told her. "We just heard someone scream and Lily went up, she hasn't come back down yet."

Beside Sirius, James paled.

"Out of my way," Professor McGonagall ordered.

The crowd parted allowing her entrance to the stairs; she took them two at a time and reached the sixth year dorms in no time.

"Miss Briar, Miss Evans," she said briskly, turning the handle. "What is going on? Miss Briar, Miss Evans."

Pursing her lips, she pointed her wand at the door, it clicked and she opened the door.

"Miss Briar, Miss Evans," she said, stepping into the room, "What is the – oh!" she reached out to cover her mouth with her hand.

The room was a bomb site and in the middle of it lay an unconscious Lily Evans.

"Someone fetch Dumbledore!" she shouted down the stairs. "Immediately!"

There was a sound of hurrying footsteps and she knew that Dumbledore had gone to be fetched. Kneeling down beside Lily, she waved her wand and at once Lily Evans' eyes snapped open.

"How do you feel?" McGonagall asked. "Does anything hurt?"

Lily shook her head.

"Professor," she said, "there was a man, a man in the room, he took Willow."

McGonagall blinked.

"A man?" she asked. "But that's impossible. No man could get in this room, Miss Evans."

"He was here," Lily insisted. "He had horrible yellow teeth and smelt of blood, he took Willow."

"Blood?" Professor McGonagall's face drained of colour. "And you say he took Miss Briar?"

Lily nodded and Professor McGonagall rose fast to her feet and hurried out of the dormitory, Lily picked herself up and hastened to follow.

"Minerva, what happened?"

Lily heard Professor Dumbledore's voice and quickened her pace, reaching the common room just as Professor McGonagall replied.

"Willow Briar's been kidnapped," she told Dumbledore. "And from the looks of it, it was Fenrir Greyback."

"WHAT!"

Sirius' yell made Lily turn and she watched as his eyes widened in horror.

"He took her?" he asked. "He took her?!"

"It'll be alright, Mr Black," Dumbledore said, trying to soothe him.

But Sirius couldn't be calmed, he made a movement as though he was going to run out the portrait hole, but James and Remus grabbed onto him before he could.

"I assure you, Mr Black," Dumbledore said, walking towards him. "We are going to do everything in our power to get Miss Briar back here safely."

Sirius looked wild and for a moment Lily thought he might break free and charge at Dumbledore, but instead he sank back, nodding in defeat.

"Minerva," Dumbledore said, turning to McGonagall. "Alert the other Professor's, get Hagrid to do a ground check, they can't be far."

McGonagall nodded and hurried off out of the portrait hole. Dumbledore turned to them.

"Mr Black, Mr Potter, Mr Lupin, Mr Pettigrew and Miss Evans, please, come with me."

Sirius, James, Remus, Peter and Lily hastened to do as they were told, James and Remus were both supporting Sirius, there arms around his shoulder and Lily hastened to catch up with them, clutching at James' hand, causing him to turn and give her a weak smile and squeeze her fingers.

Eventually they reached Dumbledore's office and he ushered them all inside.

"I want to know what exactly happened." He said.

* * *

Willow struggled desperately against Greyback's grip, but he appeared not to notice. They had landed by the lake not several moments ago and now Greyback was dragging her towards the forest.

"If you don't stop," he snarled, "I'll break your neck."

Willow stilled and he sniffed satisfied before sniffing the air.

"Damn it," he muttered, pulling her behind a tree and placing a hand over her mouth, causing her to balk at the smell of blood on his hand.

He leaned out, bringing her slightly with him before his head snapped back, yanking with her as Hagrid turned, his light shining on where their heads had been moments ago.

"Willow!" he called.

Willow pulled at Greyback's hand but he gripped tighter.

"I mean it," he growled in her ear.

Willow felt tears leak from her eyes as he moved from behind the tree, Hagrid having moved on, and towards the forest.

She was going to die.

**A/N: Okay, I know a lot of you are going to be asking how he managed to get into Hogwarts when it's so well protected, and I promise, I will answer that in the next chapter.**

**But for now, I hope you enjoyed it, and please, leave a review to let me know what you think.**

**Thanks for all your support,**

**Wacky Wizard **


	34. Safe at last

**Disclaimer: You should know by now.**

**Summary: **When Sirius fell through the veil, he didn't die, but was instead sent back in time, to be more precise, his last year of Hogwarts. Now the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor he finds himself disliking his younger self but drawn to a sixth year student by the name of Willow Briar. But nothing can happen between a student and a teacher, right? SBXOC

**A/N:** It has recently been pointed out to me that the opener of the story is copied directly from JKRowling's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which it is. I thought I had made that clear but I may be mistaken so I will say it again, the prologue chapter of this story is not mine but belongs to the genius that is JKR. It has also been pointed out that I am using influence from another story. I can only presume that this is The Time Travellers Wife? I haven't intentionally drawn from any other story bar the Harry Potter series so I apologise to those who think I have and if you think I am mistaken, please feel free to tell me which story I have taken anything from. Now, let's get on with the chapter.

Chapter Thirty three – Safe at last

"Where is it?!"

James, Remus, Peter and Lily watched as he rifled through the trunk at the foot of his bed.

"Pads, what are you looking for?" James asked, staring at his distressed friend.

"The map!" Sirius yelled, slamming his trunk lid. "It's not here!"

"Why don't you ask Peter?" Remus suggested calmly, "He had it last."

Sirius turned to face Peter who squeaked and looked round for a place to hide.

"Peter," Sirius warned, rising from the floor.

Peter squeaked and ducked behind Remus.

"I'm sorry!" he wailed. "I must have dropped it, I'm sorry!"

Sirius looked ready to kill him but James intervened.

"It doesn't matter, Sirius," he said, placing a restraining hand on his friends shoulder. "We'll find her some other way, I promise."

Just then the door to the dorm burst open and Isabella appeared flushed and out of breath.

"Hagrid's found some tracks," she told them. "They lead right into the Forbidden forest."

All five of them exchanged a look before Sirius darted out, James, Remus, Peter, Lily and Isabella hastened to follow him. Sirius headed straight out of the portrait hole nearly knocking Lacretia and Mary over in the process.

"Where's he going?" Lacretia asked. She looked tired and paler than usual.

"Hagrid's found some tracks," Isabella explained.

Lacretia and Mary exchanged a glance before joining the group which was chasing Sirius through the corridors.

He was running at full pelt now and was heading towards the Entrance Hall doors. James and Remus, being as fast as they were, were able to keep going, but Peter, Lily, Lacretia and Mary were getting tired.

"I've got him." Isabella said, and they watched as she began to pull away from them, pushing her legs harder, she overtook James and Remus before reaching Sirius and giving him a yank causing him to go sprawling on the ground.

"What did you do that for!" he yelled, rounding on her as he stood up.

Isabella too rose, calmly dusting down her robe.

"We need to wait for a Professor," she told him, looking calmly at him.

Sirius snarled at her.

"Screw a Professor!" he yelled. "We need to find her." He made to move, but Isabella reached out and grabbed his wrist, effectively stopping him. He snarled at her. "Let go off me."

She levelled a glare at him.

"You are not the only one who cares about Willow's welfare." She snapped. "You think I want her to die? That any of us do?" she gestured to the rest of them who had reached them. "We want to find her too, Sirius, but, unlike you, we realise that we have to wait for a Professor. Greyback is a werewolf, and a far superior werewolf at that. He isn't afraid to kill for what he wants, and I'm pretty sure that Willow would not want us running in like headless chickens, like you seem so intent to do!"

Sirius glared at her, his jaw locked and his eyes blazing.

"You know she's right, Sirius," James commented softly.

"I know," Sirius said his voice hard. "I just don't want to lose her."

"And you won't, Mr Black."

All of them turned to see Professor Century walking towards them, Professor McGonagall, Flitwick and Sprout followed.

"I promise we will find, Willow." He told him, his face set. "And when we do, Greyback will pay." He practically growled the name.

"Oh don't worry," Professor McGonagall said, something akin to a snarl on her face, "We'll make sure he does. No-one kidnaps a student of mine."

"You'd best head up to the castle," Professor Flitwick squeaked.

"No!" Sirius said fiercely, drawing his wand. "We're coming with you."

"Alright," Professor McGonagall said briskly, "Milano, McDonald and Jordan, back to the castle if you will."

"We're coming too," Isabella said, drawing her wand. Lacretia and Mary nodded in agreement.

"Alright then." Professor McGonagall said. "You three are with me and Professor Flitwick then, Pettigrew you too. Evans, Lupin you're with Professor Sprout, Black and Potter you're with Professor Century. Everyone know your groups?"

All of them nodded.

"Let's go then." She said, and the small group headed towards the forest before splitting off into their pairs.

Sirius surveyed the forest before him. He had been paired with his younger self and James, and the three of them were on high alert.

"We shouldn't have split up," he muttered. "Remus would have been able to find him in an instant. His sense of smell," he explained as James and his younger self looked at him before sharing a glance with each other.

"If you tell," his younger self said, "You'll no longer be a friend."

Sirius nodded and watched as his younger self immediately transformed into a dog and began sniffing the ground.

"I understand," he said, glancing at James, who looked at him. "I would have done the same for my friend too."

James nodded and made to reply when the animagi let out a loud bark and began running deeper into the forest, James and Sirius hastened to follow him.

Deeper and deeper they ran into the forest, before eventually breaking into the clearing where the animagi began to growl lowly, his hackles raised. Both James and Sirius glanced up from him to find Greyback stood in front of them, his arm around Willow's neck while she clawed at it.

"Let her go, Greyback!" Sirius cried, pointing his wand at the man.

Greyback's head snapped up and he snarled at Sirius before letting out a cry of pain. His younger self had bounded forwards and locked his jaws around Greyback's ankle. Sirius watched as Greyback aimed a kick at his younger self, who neatly dodged it before lunging at the arm that was holding Willow around the neck causing both Greyback and Willow to scream and Greyback to release Willow who fell to the floor coughing as Greyback grabbed his younger self around the neck and threw him against the tree.

His younger self let out a whimper of pain and tried to rise, but failed. Greyback sprang into a crouch and made to lunge when, without warning, another animal appeared, grabbing him around the neck and pulling back. Greyback howled in pain and shoved against the creature which released him before slowly circling him, growling lowly.

Sirius realised, in an instant, what it was. It was a wolf, a plain and simple wolf, and what was more; it was Willow's animagus form.

Greyback made to charge at the wolf, but it sprang out of the way before sinking its teeth into his flesh causing a scream of pain to come from Greyback's mouth.

"Stand back!" Sirius ordered.

The wolf did as it was asked, moving away from Greyback as Sirius pulled out his wand and waved it at Greyback, ropes appeared from the tip of his wand an bound Greyback, who, unbalanced, fell to the floor with a crash.

Sirius moved towards him, his wand still pointed and the wolf following as James hurried to help his younger self. Greyback glared up at him and Sirius glared back equally.

"How did you get into Hogwarts?" he hissed.

Greyback snarled.

"None of your business." He snapped.

The wolf growled dangerously and snapped its jaws. Greyback snarled back before letting out a yelp of pain as the wolf swiped at his face, scratching him.

"You bitch!" Greyback yelled.

The wolf howled and sank its teeth into Greyback again. Greyback howled in pain.

"The shrieking shack!" he yelled. "I got in through the shrieking shack! I explored it and found out that it led here!"

Sirius snarled before conjuring a gag.

"You're going to Azkaban," he said, "Where you belong, you piece of filth." He glanced at Willow before looking behind him to where James was helping his, now human, younger self, to his feet. Willow nodded, getting the message and changed back into her human form before hurrying towards the two of them.

Sirius watched as she flung herself at his younger self, holding him tightly. His younger self held her just as tight and buried his face into her hair while James watched smiling.

Turning back round, Sirius pointed his wand in the air and sent out a jet of green lights, letting them all know that he had Willow and that she was safe.

Not even two minutes later there was a sound of running footsteps and Remus and Lily burst into the clearing closely followed by Professor Sprout. Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Isabella, Lacretia, Mary and Peter soon followed after.

"Excellent work, Harry," Professor McGonagall said briskly as she, Sprout and Flitwick gathered around him. "Dumbledore will be pleased, although how he got in here is a complete mystery to me."

"There are several secret passages he could have used," Sirius said lightly.

He knew that if he mentioned the shrieking shack to McGonagall that he would be putting Willow, James, Remus, Peter and his younger self in serious trouble.

McGonagall pursed her lips.

"Well," she said, "At least he'll be going to where he belongs." She glanced at the others behind them. "If you would kindly escort them up to the castle, Harry. Pomona, Filius and I can handle him." She gestured to the bound and gagged Greyback.

Sirius nodded and walked briskly over to the gang who was all taking it in turns to hug Willow, although, he noticed, his younger self was keeping her close to him.

"Come on, guys," he said. "Let's get you back to the castle."

They nodded and began moving out of the forest.

"You alright, Willow?" he asked, looking at Willow.

Willow nodded, smiling before embracing him.

"Thanks, Professor." She said.

Sirius smiled and gave her a light squeeze before releasing her.

"It's fine," he told her. "We're all just glad you're safe."

Willow smiled before smiling at Sirius who smiled back and wrapped an arm around her shoulder allowing her to wrap an arm around his waist.

Smiling at the sight, Sirius led the small group back up to the castle and towards safety.

Finally, Greyback was a threat no more.

**A/N: A slightly shorter chapter than before, I know. But I just can't seem to finish it off, especially when it's ended so nicely there. The bit about Peter losing the map is there purely because it must have been lost/confiscated for it to end up in Fred and George's hands during their first year at Hogwarts.**

**As for Willow's animagus form, it's perfectly legal. She is a registered animagi and got lessons from Professor McGonagall on how to turn. She did it so that she could keep her father company during his full moons during the summer and Christmas holidays.**

**Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter and that you'll leave me a review.**

**Thanks again,**

**Until next time,**

**Wacky Wizard **


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